By Michele Maatouk
Date: Tuesday 05 Oct 2021
LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - LPA Group shares tumbled after it warned it now expects to report an operating loss for the full year, as supply chain issues have caused further delays to rail projects.
At its interim results in June, the AIM-listed company was positive that its "conservative" expectations for the financial year could be delivered despite challenges presented by Covid lockdowns and Brexit.
However, it cautioned on Tuesday that the supply chain problems have dented the momentum it had been anticipating from the market, "tipping this year's results into an operating loss".
"We have been re-looking at our strategy going forward which will continue to be export led but will also have a greater emphasis on the UK's growing engineering demand, onshoring opportunities, and the capacity constraints being experienced throughout the sectors that we can address through the capacity and capabilities we have across our manufacturing sites," it said.
"Our recent focus on large scale rail projects that have been hampered by supply issues and delayed by macroeconomics will be less strategic but nevertheless our order book will be a bedrock to allow us to adapt and build our business. FY22 will be a year of development as we implement these changes and deploy our sales and marketing staff into more a resilient market focus."
LPA said its balance sheet and liquidity remain a key asset and that it has remained cash generative.
The company designs and manufactures LED lighting, electronic and electro-mechanical systems for the transport and aerospace and defence markets.
At 1310 BST, the shares were down 19.7% at 59p.