Laird poor conditions continue

Electrical firm Laird said underlying profit margin percentage, before interest and tax, in the first half is expected to be in mid single digits, below that in the first quarter. The group said its performance has been affected by the challenging macroeconomic conditions and supply chain de-stocking in the second half of 2008, which have continued through the first half of this yearIn the first half of 2009, like-for-like revenues are expected to decline around 35% on a constant currency basis, with all three of its divisions affected by the lower demand. When reported in Sterling, the year-on-year revenue decline is expected to be some 15%.Like-for-like revenues in the second quarter of 2009 are expected to be slightly lower than those in the first quarter.The trading performance of our Telematics antennae business has been affected by the bankruptcy filings of Chrysler and General Motors. The weakening of the US Dollar against Sterling will also adversely affect the translation of our revenues and profits."While we are benefiting from the prompt actions we have taken to reduce costs we still expect, as previously announced, that first half performance will be considerably below the strong levels seen in the first half of 2008," said the group."Although visibility of customer demand is limited and we remain cautious as to the timing of an overall market recovery, we expect to see a pick-up in demand for our products during the second half of this year," it added.