SAFETY harness provider Latchways has said its pre-tax profits have slipped by 42 per cent to £2.3 million in the six months to the end of September after it suffered lower sales in the offshore wind energy market and its largest customer in the United States de-stocked key products.

The Wiltshire-based firm said trading was strong in Latin America and was also recovering at its UK construction-facing businesses, adding that its problems in the US and in wind power were temporary.