600 Group Posts Loss In FY09; Shares Plunge

6/23/2009 8:21 AM ET

(RTTNews) - Tuesday, precision engineering products manufacturer 600 Group Plc (SIXH.L: News ) announced preliminary results for fiscal 2009, reporting a loss compared to a profit last year, reflecting mainly a sudden and severe downturn in machine tools market that led to lower revenue. SIXH shares are currently trading down by more than 20% on the London Stock Exchange.

Loss before tax for the year was GBP 7.99 million compared to a pre-tax profit of GBP 2.52 million in the previous year.

Loss attributable to shareholders for the year was GBP 8.89 million or 15.5 pence per share compared to a profit of GBP 0.13 million or 0.2 pence per share last year.

Loss for fiscal 2009 was GBP 8.86 million compared to a profit of GBP 0.25 million a year ago.

For the year, total revenue declined 2% to GBP 76.21 million from GBP 77.43 million in the previous year. Underlying sales fell 7% after taking into account the effect of a one-off major aerospace contract undertaken in the first half of the year.

Gross margin for the year declined to 27% from 29% in the previous year impacted by the aerospace contract and currency movements.

Operating expenses for the year increased to GBP 29.9 million from GBP 22.9 million in the previous year.

Looking forward, the company said the next few months will continue to present major challenges amid subdued markets. 600 Group noted that its focus will be on the mid priced CNC and conventional machine sectors along with components and spares.

The company did not recommend any dividend for the year.

SIXH is currently trading at 15.50 pence, down 21.05%, on the London Stock Exchange.