Chamberlin warns shareholders to expect to see “subdued performance”
SPECIALIST foundry and engineering group Chamberlin will warn shareholders at today’s AGM to expect to see subdued performance from the first three months of its financial year.
The Walsall firm announced in May that it had returned to profit after seeing a significant improvement in its performance compared with the previous year but today’s warning suggests the tough times aren’t over yet.
Chairman Keith Butler-Wheelhouse will tell its AGM: “The first three months of the new financial year reflect the overall subdued performance anticipated at the time of the publication of the group’s final results on 19 May. This includes the impact of the current weak euro.”
Bur Butler-Wheelhouse will go on to say that the group continues to drive continuous improvement and lean manufacturing, and volumes are expected to improve in the second half of the financial year to March 2016.
“As a consequence while the board anticipates a soft first half, it expects the group to deliver financial results for the full year in line with current market expectations,” he said.
In May Chamberlin said the return to profit was a reflection of the management team’s efforts to turn the business around.
For the year ended March 31, 2015, revenues were up 5.9% to £40.8m (2014: £38.6m) and underlying pre-tax profit reached £0.8m (2014: loss of £0.8m). Profit before tax on an IFRS basis was £0.1m (2014: loss of £2.1m).
