LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Chemring said on Tuesday that it now expects the blast at its Countermeasures facility near Salisbury to dent full-year underlying operating profit by £15m, which is middle of its previous range.
The company announced last month that the blast at its manufacturing factory had left one worker dead and another badly injured. In an update for the four months to 31 August, Chemring said the injured colleague remains in hospital recovering from his injuries.

Meanwhile, the investigation into the incident is ongoing and the group is working closely with the regulatory bodies to determine the root cause. It is also working with the regulatory bodies on the UK Countermeasures site restart plan.

"The impact on the group's underlying operating profit in the current financial year is likely to be around the middle of the range of £10m - £20m indicated in the statement made on 13 August," it said.

Chemring said it saw "positive" customer demand in the Countermeasures division during the period, resulting in £78m of orders received, mostly from the US government for a range of requirements including spectral, infrared and special material decoys.

The Sensors division has received a number of "significant" awards, while the Energetics business has seen demand continue to soften, as expected.

"Recent contract awards in our Countermeasures and Sensors segments demonstrate both continued customer demand and the progress the group is making on its roadmap to focus on higher margin, niche market positions where the group is best placed to generate future value.

"With the exception of the impact of the CCM incident, trading across the group remains in line with the board's expectations."

At 1030 BST, the shares were up 1.9% to 201p.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE