黑洞社区

Low & Bonar said it was expecting a 鈥渟light recovery鈥� in sales in the second six months of the year, as it reported a 13% fall in first-half profit.

The materials firm posted pre-tax profit of 拢5.1m for the six months to 31 May, down from 拢5.9m for the same period last year. Year-on-year revenue was down 11.4% to 拢139.5m, compared with 拢157.5m in May 2008.

But the company said its results were 鈥渞esilient鈥� and it had seen an 鈥渆ncouraging improvement in sales patterns鈥� in the second quarter.

Low & Bonar said it had cut costs by more than 拢10m over the period. The group has 12% fewer employees than this time last year and shorter hours have been introduced where possible, it said. Net debt in May stood at 拢98.7m, down from 拢208.2m in May last year.

The firm added that it was benefiting from diversification into new markets, notably the Middle East and Asia, where sales now make up almost 10% of the group total.

Duncan Clegg, chairman of Low & Bonar, said cost actions and raw material benefits would mitigate the impact of the low year-on-year volumes and that the board's full-year profit forecast remained unchanged.

He said: 鈥淲ith strong, well invested market positions and having focused on a number of cost and efficiency initiatives, the group is well placed to benefit from any further improvement in sales as and when economies around the world recover.鈥�