AGA.L Share News (AGA)

Upmarket cooker maker Aga moved into the red in the half year to 30 June and expects Autumn sales to match levels seen the same time last year.The group reported a pre-tax loss of £2.4m compared with a profit of £12.3m the same time a year earlier. Revenue fell to £117.8m from £145.1m. "Cost cutting, good cashflow management and resilient trading are central components of our 2009 story. We have the product and sales initiatives in place now to respond should the Autumn selling season bring the hoped for bounce-back in consumer confidence," Aga said in today's company statement.Aga said it had made annualised cost savings of £8m from initiatives taken since the start of 2008. "Order intake falls have levelled out at around 20% and heading into the major Autumn sales months we expect sales to start to match comparators impacted by last year's market slowdown," the group said.