Findel warns of project delays

Findel, which is based in Burley-in-Wharfedale, West Yorkshire, has issued a trading update following the appointment of its new management team.

The statement said: "As previously reported, led by the new management team, the board is in the process of a thorough bottom-up review of the strategy and operations of each business and the group as a whole.

"The full potential review is progressing well and a complete update will be provided at the time of announcing the group's interim results. These results are expected to show that continuing profit for the first half of the year is ahead of the same period last year.

"The full potential review has included an in-depth analysis of the internal forecasts for the current financial year ending April 1 2011 and beyond. As part of this exercise, it has been decided that a more prudent approach should be taken in relation to some specific items which will have a direct effect on this year's outturn."

The group's expectations for the second half of the current year had included profits of more than 3m from one major international contract and a number of lesser contracts sourced by the education division.

However, these projects have experienced delays and, although they may still be awarded in the current financial year, the board believes it is prudent to assume that these contracts, if won, will most likely fall into the next financial year.

The board also said that it had decided to adopt a more prudent approach to certain forecast non-trading items, including property gains, pensions and foreign exchange. The aggregate net impact of these changes reduces the expected outturn for the year by an extra 4m.

The statement continued: "The group is just entering the peak pre-Christmas trading period for our home shopping division and it is too early to be definitive about the performance through this key period. However, customers in the main catalogue business appear to be responding well to current offers and new initiatives we have recently put in place. Trading in the smaller businesses within this division is mixed.

"The full potential review is progressing well and the new management team has identified a wide range of opportunities to improve the operational performance within each of the group's businesses over the coming years. The board will update the market further on these findings and current trading when it announces its interim results at the end of November."