Shares in Low & Bonar (LWB) fell 16 per cent to 68p after the specialist materials group warned that worsening conditions in mainland Europe and a slower than expected order intake in Saudi Arabia will hit profits in the year to November. It now estimates that profits before tax, amortisation and non-recurring items will be in the region of £25.3m, the same level recorded last year, to £26.5m. Mainland Europe accounts for around a quarter of group sales.
And while civil engineering sales grew by 4 per cent in the first half, on a like-for-like basis, slow trading already experienced in the third quarter is likely to leaves sales flat for the year as a whole.
Following the warning, analysts at Numis Securities have downgraded estimates for 2015 from £36m to £30m pre-tax profits and EPS from 7.3p to 6.4p.
