Salvesen shares slip

SHARES in Christian Salvesen, the logistics to brick- making group, tumbled 62p to 314p after the group warned that pre-tax profits would be below last year's pounds 74.8m, writes John Murray.

The company had highlighted difficult market conditions when it reported interim results in December. Chris Masters, chief executive, said the problems that led to the profits warning were relatively small but added together they would chop about pounds 6m off Salvesen's bottom line in the year to March.

They comprised competitive pressures on Aggreko, the power-hire arm, a stock write-down at Light and Sound Design, and the effect of prolonged bad weather on Salvesen's vegetable processing operations. Mr Masters said the distribution business, which supplies 45 per cent of trading profits, was performing well.

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