Dewhurst beats expectations

Better than expected sales in Europe and Asia mean that components supplier Dewhurst will report significantly higher than expected profit for the year to September 2010. House broker Seymour Pierce originally forecast a profit of £3.6m for the year, which would have been a decline from £4.43m. An interim profit of £2.18m has already been reported. AIM-quoted Dewhurst's main markets are in the lift, keypad and rail sectors and the international spread of the business has helped to offset weak demand in the UK. Exchange rate movements have also helped. Full year figures will be published in early December.