Shares in Fife furniture and fit-out firm Havelock Europa slumped yesterday after it issued a profits warning.
Stock took a double-digit fall following the company’s mid-morning statement to the City, and there was little sign of an improvement in investor sentiment in later trading.
Havelock is one of Fife’s larger employers with around 400 staff based at two major operational bases at Dalgety Bay and Kirkcaldy.
The company counts Primark and Marks & Spencer among its regular retail customers, and has completed fit-out contracts for clients across the consumer, healthcare and education sectors among others.
In its update it said a deferral of orders by a number of customers in the retail and financial sectors had led to a lowering of profit guidance for the full-year.
The company said it now expected profits before exceptional items for the year to December 31 to be below the previous expectations of the board and less than the £632,000 profit it achieved in 2013.
The firm also confirmed it expected one-off charges for the year to amount to around £900,000, a figure including around £520,000 relating to senior management changes in the business and a further £380,000 in restructuring costs in its Stage System unit.
Havelock said that while the performance in the second half was clearly “disappointing”, the delayed orders and an upturn in the education sector meant it expected to enter next year with an improved pipeline of work.
Eric Prescott, chief executive officer of Havelock Europa, said: “While it is disappointing that profits will be below expectations, the outlook remains positive and the board is confident of achieving its expectations for 2015.”
Shares in the AIM-listed firm closed the day down 9.68% at 17.5p.