24th Jul 2015 08:48
LONDON (Alliance News) - Holders Technology PLC on Friday posted a narrowed pretax loss for the first half of its financial year as an improvement in its margins in the half offset lower sales.
Despite the improvement, Holders slashed is dividend, cutting its interim payout to 0.25 pence per share from 1 pence a year earlier.
The company, which makes printed circuit board materials, LED components and lighting, said its pretax loss for the six months to the end of May was GBP95,000, narrowed from a GBP169,000 loss a year earlier.
The company's revenue fell to GBP5.5 million from GBP6.9 million, but it managed to cut its cost of sales and administrative expenses sufficiently to improve its gross margin by 200 basis points to 25.6%.
Printed circuit board revenue in the half was down to GBP4.1 million from GBP5.8 million, which more than offset a rise in LED revenue to GBP1.3 million from GBP1.2 million. The printed circuit board unit was hit hard by a slowdown in its key German market and also took a hit from the end of a supplier agreement in the UK.
Holders shares were down 6.9% to 37.25 pence on Friday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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