LONDON (ShareCast) - Consumer products company McBride said it was unlikely to meet full-year market expectations due to difficult trading conditions.

The group reported a 4% fall in group revenue in the three months ended April 2nd, reflecting a weak performance at the Private Label business.

Revenue Private Label, which supplies household products, declined 2% due to a weak retail environment affecting customers in UK and Italy and branded promotional activity that was more extensive than last year.

The France/Benelux, Germany and Poland businesses continued to grow with Private Label revenue growth of 1%, 12% and 6%, respectively.

“We expect an improvement in performance in our fourth quarter as a consequence of planned project launches, but for the effect to be mitigated somewhat by weak demand in the UK and Italian retail sectors,” the company said.

“Given the unpredictability of these markets and the ongoing difficult trading conditions being encountered by our retail customers, the board believes that it is unlikely that the company will meet market expectations for the year ending June 2014.”

To address the weakness in sales to UK customers, the group has been carrying out a strategic review of operations in the nation. McBride expects it will lead to a significant restructuring of activities, including capacity reduction.

Shares fell 9% to 96p at 11:10 on Thursday.

RD

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