Renolds plunges £7.7m in the red

Renold, the chain manufacturer behind roller coasters at Blackpool Pleasure Beach and Floridian theme parks, blamed "inefficient" processes on its £7.7m plunge into the red in the year to April.

It follows a £7.6m pre-tax profit the previous year. Renold, which brought in Robert Purcell as chief executive in January, claimed its problems stemmed from poor customer service lessening demand for its products. "We understand from research that many of our customers respect our reputation for engineering excellence, but that we let ourselves down on customer service and delivery," the chairman Mark Harper said. "These are disappointing, if unsurprising, results, due as much to long-standing inefficient business processes within the group as they are to very challenging end markets."

The Manchester-based company reported revenues of £190.3m for the year, down from £205.5m a year earlier.

During the year the chains business issued three profit warnings.