IWP expects funding deal soon

The board of personal care products group IWP has told shareholders that it expects to complete a deal with its lenders soon on securing funding to March 2006.

An EGM is being held today to approve the sale of Skiffy Group for €28m, which the company say will reduce group net borrowings by €26.1m.

According to the ISEQ-listed company, the profit on the sale will be €9.2m and the uplift in Group net assets will be €17.8m.

The company said following a review by management of the group's UK businesses, that, there will be a maximum €18m write off for certain one off costs primarily related to product inventories, a property lease and certain currency related items.

The company said this will be partially offset on the disposal of the Skiffy group.

Chief executive Jim Murphy also said the company was looking at options to reduce losses in its Canadian business, warning that the company would take a further one-off charge in addition to the one in its interim results statement in December.

Looking ahead, the company said: "In terms of current trading we anticipate that underlying performance will be broadly in line with market expectations for the year to March 31, 2004".