Order book fall but Clyde progresses

Doncaster-based Clyde, which specialises in pneumatic processing systems for industries including food and mining, said its trading has been in line with expectations.

Its order book at the end of January stood at 19.5m compared to 24.5m a year earlier, which Clyde said reflects "the continuing challenging economic trading conditions". However, it said its order pipeline is healthy and provides a "solid foundation".

Chief executive Alex Stewart said: "Order book and sales prospect conversion have formed the focal point of our efforts during the second half of this financial year. 2009 was clearly a challenging economic climate to operate within but our business has performed strongly during this period thanks to the efforts of our global workforce.

"Whilst the group enters 2010 in a solid position, we recognise that a degree of uncertainty remains in the timing of capital expenditure across some of our key customer markets."