Taxi maker Manganese Bronze endures a rough ride on the markets
COVENTRY-based black cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze endured a turbulent day on the markets after revealing an accounting error had caused its losses to widen to more than £4m.
The accounting error, blamed on a new computer system, caused the firm to delay publication of its interim results until late on Friday evening leaving no time for it to impact trading.
However, investors reacted badly to the announcement yesterday and the firm’s shares plunged in early trading before rallying late on to end the day just 2.3% down.
The firm said in its interims statement that an increase in overseas sales had failed to make up for a near 23% fall in UK sales volumes and it was therefore unlikely the firm would return to profit during the final quarter of the year.
The results showed that group revenue for the six months to June 30, 2012 fell 11.3% to £34.3m as the challenging UK market conditions continued. UK sales volumes were down 22.9% to 577 vehicles (2011: 748) although international sales grew 6.3% to 504 vehicles (2011: 474).
Operating margins reduced due to supply chain issues and increased warranty costs and the operating loss before exceptional items increased to £3.1m (2011: £1.9m). The restated figure for the 2011 full year is £4.692m before exceptional items.
