(Alliance News) - Shares in Trackwise Designs PLC plunged on Tuesday as it swung to a loss in the first half of 2019 following a decline in revenue.
Shares in the printed circuit boards manufacturer were 33% lower at 84.75 pence on Tuesday.
For the six months to the end of June, Trackwise Designs reported a pretax loss of GBP87,000, compared to a profit of GBP71,000 the year before. This was on revenue that declined by 16% to GBP1.5 million from GBP1.8 million.
The group's revenue drop was mainly due to a weaker performance from its Radio Frequency division, where revenue fell by 33% to GBP1.0 million.
The RF division traded below management expectations, due to customer disruption from uncertainty over Brexit, and the US-China trade situation and a slowing of the global economy.
However, the group's smaller Integrated Harness Technology segment reported 65% growth in revenue to GBP547,000, as the number of customers increased to 57 from 14.
Looking ahead, Trackwise said that market conditions have not improved since the first half, leading to the anticipation of revenue and operating profit for 2019 being below market expectations.
The group also expects 2020 to be behind market expectations, despite continued growth in its IHT division.
"While the challenging market environment for manufacturing businesses has had a detrimental impact on customer orders, with macro and market conditions affecting our RF business, the medium-term outlook for Trackwise remains extremely positive, driven by IHT growth," said Chief Executive Officer Philip Johnston.
