At the Annual General Meeting of John Menzies plc today, William Thomson, Chairman, made the following statement:

 

The Group has made a positive start to the year in both divisions.

The strong final quarter performance of 2003 at Distribution continued into the first quarter of the current year.  The magazine sector has benefited from new publication launches.  Newspaper revenues have benefited from recent price increases and the introduction of compact versions of certain broadsheets.

 

Aviation is making good progress as a result of management actions and generally more stable market conditions. We continue to focus on raising return on capital by turning around underperforming locations and selectively expanding the stronger businesses within the portfolio.