UPDATE 1-BBA Aviation says Q1 trading in line with its view
* Says April trading shows similar trend
* Net debt falls 7 pct to 514 mln stg at March 31
* Shares rise as much as 18 pct (Adds details)
April 30 (Reuters) - British aviation services company BBA Aviation (BBA.L) said trading for the first quarter ended March 31 was in line with its expectations, with an 8 percent growth in sales and better-than-expected cost savings.
Trading in April also followed a similar trend, BBA said.
The company said sales at its Signature Flight Support outperformed the market and had shown signs of stabilisation in recent weeks, helped by its new pricing programmes.
The business saw a 12 percent fall in sales for the quarter, while the market fell by 26 percent, it said.
BBA said its shareholders had elected to take 28 percent of the final cash dividend in shares, which once approved at the annual general meeting, would reduce cash dividend payment in May by over 6 million pounds ($8.96 million). The company, which is focusing on cash generation and debt reduction, said as of March 31, net debt was 514 million pounds, a fall of 40 million pounds from last year-end.
Despite a challenging year ahead and limited visibility, "we are trading satisfactorily and delivering a strong relative performance," Chief Executive Officer Simon Pryce said in a statement.
At 0814 GMT, BBA shares were up 8 percent at 100.5 pence on the London Stock Exchange. They touched a high of 109.75 pence earlier in the session. ($1=.6697 Pound) (Reporting by Shivani Singh in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
