(Alliance News) - Shares in MediaZest PLC fell on Monday after the audio-visual company said it swung to an interim loss due to a delayed project.
Shares in the London-based firm were down 12% at 0.055 pence on Monday.
For the half year ended September 30, MediaZest fell to a pretax loss of GBP228,000 from a GBP207,000 profit last year. Revenue was down by more than half to GBP943,000, from a restated GBP2.1 million a year before.
The company attributed the pretax loss to a delay of a "major project" with an unnamed UK university. MediaZest said the project now is progressing towards completion, with the majority of work falling into October and November 2019.
Chair Lance O'Neill said: "As noted, both in this statement and previously, the UK market continues to suffer from macroeconomic headwinds particularly in the retail sector, leading to delayed investment decisions, cost-cutting programmes, and the termination of projects by clients.
"Despite these pressures, over the last three months, the group has seen a marked increase in enquiries and built an encouraging pipeline for 2020. Several existing clients have already indicated plans to extend their engagement with the company substantially in 2020 via new projects and the expansion of existing programmes."
The chair added: "Notwithstanding the disappointing performance in the period, the board believes that the new calendar year will provide opportunities for the group to continue
the progress it made" in financial 2019.
By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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Mediazest (MDZ)