DIPLOMA PLC

                                           12 CHARTERHOUSE SQUARE, LONDON EC1M 6AX

TELEPHONE: +44 (0)20 7549 5700

FACSIMILE: +44 (0)20 7549 5715

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

25 September 2019

DIPLOMA PLC

 ACQUISITIONS IN SEALS AND LIFE SCIENCES

FOR MAXIMUM CONSIDERATION OF £15.5m

Diploma PLC, the international group supplying specialised products and services, is pleased to announce the recent acquisitions of DMR Seals in the UK and Sphere Surgical in Australia. 

DMR Seals will report as part of the Seals Sector and Sphere Surgical will report as part of the Life Sciences Sector. Both acquisitions will be immediately earnings enhancing for the Group. Consideration for both acquisitions has been funded from the Group's existing cash resources.

DMR Seals

The Group has acquired 100% of DMR Seals (Holdings) Ltd and DMR Gaskets Ltd ("DMR Seals") for an initial consideration of £6.9m and a maximum consideration of £7.5m.

DMR Seals is a well-established UK distributor of bespoke machined seals and gaskets to OEMs operating in a broad mix of industries, including oil & gas, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food and heavy industry.  DMR Seals employs 35 staff and operates from a leased facility in Sheffield. The business complements our existing UK Seals businesses and will report into the FPE management team.

In the year ended 30 April 2019, DMR Seals reported unaudited revenues of £3.8m, and operating profit of £0.9m, after normalisation adjustments. Unaudited profit before tax was £0.8m.

Sphere Surgical

The Group has acquired 100% of Sphere Surgical Pty Ltd ("Sphere Surgical") for an initial consideration of £6.6m (A$12.0m) and maximum consideration of £8.0m (A$14.5m).

Sphere Surgical is a specialised distributor of bariatric surgical consumables supplied to both public and private hospitals in Australia and New Zealand. There is a growing market for obesity products and Sphere Surgical's gastric products complement our existing surgical product range in Australia. Sphere Surgical operates from Melbourne and will form part of Big Green Surgical. 

In the year ended 30 June 2019, Sphere Surgical reported unaudited revenues of £2.8m (A$5.1m) and operating profit of £1.0m (A$1.9m). Unaudited profit before tax was also £1.0m (A$1.9m).

NOTE TO EDITORS:

Diploma PLC is an international group supplying specialised products and services to a wide range of end segments to our three Sectors: Life Sciences, Seals and Controls.

Diploma's businesses are focussed on supplying essential products and services which are funded by the customers' operating rather than their capital budgets, providing recurring income and stable revenue growth.

Our businesses then design their individual business models to closely meet the requirements of their customers, offering a blend of high quality customer service, deep technical support and value adding activities.  By supplying essential solutions, not just products, we build strong long term relationships with our customers and suppliers, which support attractive and sustainable margins.

Finally we encourage an entrepreneurial culture in our businesses through our decentralised management structure.  We want our managers to feel that they have the freedom to run their own businesses, while being able to draw on the support and resources of a larger group.  These essential values ensure that decisions are made close to the customer and that the businesses are agile and responsive to changes in the market and the competitive environment.

The Group employs ca. 1,900 employees and its principal operating businesses are located in the UK, Northern Europe, North America and Australia.

Over the last ten years, the Group has grown adjusted earnings per share at an average of ca. 13% p.a. through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions.  Diploma is a member of the FTSE 250 with a market capitalisation of ca. £1.9bn.

Further information on Diploma PLC can be found at www.diplomaplc.com

LEI: 2138008OG17VYG8FGR19

Further information on Diploma PLC, together with a copy of this Announcement, is available at www.diplomaplc.com