Profits tumble at Vislink

Secure communications specialist Vislink saw lower pre-tax profit in the first half of what the chairman regards as a year of transition for the group.'Customers in our News & Entertainment market are suffering from lower revenues in the current economic climate and are reducing their expenditure on our traditional products, although our recent investments in new products will protect our customer base and open new markets,' maintained Tim Trotter, chairman of Vislink. 'Nevertheless, ordering patterns are less predictable than in the past,' Trotter added.Revenue from continuing operations eased to £45.9m in the six months to 30 June 2009 from £46.6m a year earlier.Underlying revenue, which uses constant exchange rates and excludes revenue associated with the 2GHz US spectrum relocation programme, rose 11.6% to £38.5m from £34.5m.Profit before tax slumped to £0.48m from £2.29m. No interim dividend has been declared.