6th Jun 2019 09:51
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in Autins Group PLC dropped on Thursday as the company said it continued to experience challenging trading in the first half of its financial year due to weakness in the automotive industry.
Autins shares were trading 29% lower at 25.90 pence following the news. The company makes acoustic and thermal insulation for the automotive sector.
In the six months to March 31, Autins revenue fell 14% to GBP13.7 million from GBP15.9 million in the comparative period a year ago. Sales however rose 5.2% from the second half of financial 2018, when they came in at GBP12.8 million.
"The group, and the automotive industry generally, is continuing to experience challenging trading conditions from a combination of factors, including factory shutdowns due to Brexit, uncertainty over the future of diesel engine vehicles and a sharp decline in global demand, especially in China," the company explained.
Autins added: "Despite this market backdrop, the group has continued to see positive momentum in its business and while further recovery is required to return to H1 2018 levels, H1 2019 has seen an improvement on H2 2018."
The company said after challenging trading in the second half of financial 2018, it focused on cost control and sales conversion. However, disruption from Brexit preparations and equipment breakdown in Germany, meant that Autins has "not yet seen the full benefit from its cost control measures".
Looking ahead, Autins said it expects margins to increase at a slower pace than originally guided in the second half, due to the challenging market conditions also affecting full-year profitability.
Despite revenue for the full-year expected "broadly in line with market expectations", the company said earnings "will be close to break-even" for the year.
Autins will publish its interim results on June 26.
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