Cold spell knocks Johnson Service

Shares in laundry and textile rental group Johnson Services fell back as it cautioned profits at its dry cleaning business had been hit by the cold weather in December.Overall, the group still expects to hit its 2009 targets, but despite management action to reduce costs, dry cleaning profits were lower than in 2008.Textile Rental profits are expected to show a modest increase over 2008 despite lower revenue, despite a higher incidence of business closures and reduced spending by existing customers.Linen subsidiary Stalbridge traded above expectations in the second half, as the business continued to improve efficiency, and made a contribution of some £1m million for the year as a whole as compared to the £0.5m loss incurred in 2008.Facilities Management arm achieved modest profitability and revenue growth in a very difficult market in 2009. Johnson Service