(Alliance News) - Filtration-focused engineering firm Filta Group Holdings PLC said Tuesday it expects profit for the second half of the year to be "similar" to that reported in the first half, after a number of delays and additional costs incurred.
Shares in Filta were 17% lower at 159.25 pence in London on Tuesday.
In the second half of 2019, Filta expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation & amortisation to be "similar" to the GBP1.7 million reported for the first six months of the year.
This was after planned efficiencies from its up to GBP8.1 million acquisition of Watbio Holdings Ltd in December were slower to be realised in the second half of 2019 than expected. Consequently, Filta has had to divert resources to catch up on an order backlog in its UK Fat, Oils & Grease unit.
In addition, a small amount of installation work which had been expected in the final quarter of 2019 will now be delayed until 2020.
Despite this, the Watbio acquisition has "greatly strengthened" the market position on Filta and brought some "major" national contracts.
Overall, 2019 has seen trading continue to be "in line" with expected. Order books have continued to strengthen, new franchisees continue to show interest and the firm remains confident of delivering further growth.
For 2020, Filta continues to remain "confident" for the outlook with both Europe and North America operations performing strongly. Cost-reduction measures are also ongoing, with expectations they will improve margins in the new year.
"With completion of the Watbio integration in sight and our franchise operations performing well across all territories, 2020 is set to be a year of significant progress for the business," Chief Executive Officer Jason Sayers said. "We shall update the market further in due course."
By Ahren Lester; ahrenlester@alliancenews.com
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