10th Feb 2014 10:10
LONDON (Alliance News) - Latchways PLC Monday said profit and revenue for the full-year to March 31 2013, are expected to be materially short of current expectations as the company was hit by the strengthening pound and the effects of continued investment in sales and new product development.
The company, which makes workplace fall-prevention systems for the roofing and utilities sectors, said it expects to post pretax profit in the region of GBP6.5 million and GBP7.5 million.
It said its traditional commercial construction-facing business has been subdued over the winter in the UK and Europe.
"We are seeing increased activity amongst UK architects and specifiers which gives us cause for optimism in the mid term, but short term orders have been slower than we expected," the firm said.
In addition, project delays have proved harmful to the wingrip and wind energy businesses despite robust pipelines of business. It said project delays are likely to mean that some of the expected revenue will now fall into the next financial year.
"Although these setbacks are disappointing, we are confident that our strategy of investing in the sales team and infrastructure of the business is the right course," the firm added. "The benefits of our recent investments will take time to reach their full potential but we expect these to be significant."
On a positive note, Latchway's GBP3 million production facility in Devizes, Wiltshire was completed. This unit is expected to generate considerable operational efficiencies as well as providing growth capacity for the foreseeable future, the firm said.
In addition, Latchways said its newest product lines, the Self Retracting Lifeline and Personal Rescue Device are continuing to generate revenue growth in North America.
Financially, the firm said cash generation and its balance sheet remains strong, with net cash totalling GBP10 million at the end of January.
The stock was trading at 1,114.00 pence Monday morning, down 161.00 pence or 12.6%.
By Anthony Tshibangu; [email protected]; @AnthonyAllNews
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