SHARES in Havelock Europa fell by 10 per cent after a profits warning from the Fife-based storefitter and schools supplier.
Last year, Havelock posted its first full-year profit for five years and, at interim results in September, chief executive Eric Prescott said the business was performing in line with expectations. House broker Oriel Securities had been pencilling in a near 50 per cent rise in underlying pre-tax profits this year to £900,000.
However, yesterday the company pointed to a warning in the September statement that "achievement of the company's expectations for the second half of the financial year remained dependent on the finalisation of orders and delivery schedules for the fourth quarter".
It went on: "As a result of the deferral of orders by a number of customers in the retail and financial sectors, the company now expects that the profit (before exceptional costs) for the year to December 31, 2014, will be below the board's previous expectations and last year's profit of £632,000."
It said exceptional costs for the current year would hit around £900,000, including £520,000 for senior management changes and the balance for the restructuring of Stage System.
The board said that while the outcome for the second half of the current year was disappointing, the delayed orders and a recovery in the education sector enabled it to anticipate entering next year with an improved pipeline.
Mr Prescott 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."
In September, the group said it was building a significant order book for education sector work, having completed its first major student accommodation project and won further orders. It also reported new overseas contract wins in the retail sector, including from Kmart in Australia.
But it also said there had a been a slowdown in education sector spend, blaming project delays and a decision to give all infant pupils in England free school meals as a priority.
Shares fell 1.88p to 17.50p.
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