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(Sharecast News) - Shares in industrial fastenings group Trifast slumped early on Tuesday after it reported a sharp drop in interim pre-tax profits.
Trifast said pre-tax profits tumbled 43% to £3.0m in the six months ended 30 September, with the group citing weaker gross margins, higher tax rates, and spending on its Project Atlas endeavour.
Underlying operating profits fell 20% to £6.0m and gross profits contracted 180 basis points to 24.5%.
However, Trifast did also note that revenue had risen 16% in the half to £120.2m, and said it had hiked interim dividends by 7.1% to 0.75p.
"Whilst recognising the challenges in HY1, with the initiatives we are adopting we continue to see significant scope to build the business and we remain confident in the fundamentals of our business model over the medium term," said chief executive Mark Belton.
As of 1320 GMT, Trifast shares were down 8.88% at 52.85p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
