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Pilkington warns slowdown will hit second half

Saeed Shah
Friday 26 October 2001 00:00 BST
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The glass maker Pilkington yesterday warned that trading in the second half would be hit by the economic slowdown and mothballed plans to open a new £75m plant in Poland.

The company went on to suggest that next year may not see any improvement. "The world economic outlook is more uncertain than for many years; accordingly the management is taking a very cautious view of 2002-03," it said.

The news cast a shadow over the first-half results for 2001 announced yesterday, which were what it called the best interim figures for a decade. Pilkington has gone through a major restructuring programme since 1997, which has seen it lay off large numbers of staff and improve efficiencies. The group said it was now well-positioned to ride out the downturn.

Pre-tax profit was up 14 per cent, before goodwill and exceptionals, to £120m. The group has reduced production at some of its plants and it said that demand from car manufacturers was down.

The broker CSFB said: "Even though we expect the coming year to be difficult, Pilkington should see some, albeit modest, growth."

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