Redhall shares plunge on profit warning

Shares in Redhall Group plunged by more than a quarter after the engineering support services company warned that trading and profits for the second half would miss forecasts.Redhall said performance had been hit by lower activity and margins in its nuclear business and some parts of its engineering division. The company's shares were down 26.1% to a 52-week low of 41p in London morning trading.In a statement, Redhall said: "Trading in the second half of the financial year ending 30 September 2013 is anticipated to be below management expectations with profits below market consensus."Two nuclear contracts announced in June have suffered slower than expected orders. At the time of announcement, the company said the contracts would underpin about half the nuclear business's annual revenue and that it expected work volumes to increase after a lower-than-expected start to the year.At its half-year results on June 13th, the company said it had a record order book and was looking to the future with confidence. Redhall said it had cut costs to meet lower activity levels and that this had caused a one-off restructuring charge in the second half. The charge has helped push up its working capital requirements but total borrowing is within current bank facilities and Redhall's bank, HSBC, "remain supportive", Redhall said.SF