UK RENTAL company and lifting contractor Baldwins Industrial Services has warned shareholders that it expects to report a pre-tax loss of £7.6m ($11m) for the year ended 31 March 2002.
Turnover is expected to be about £83.3m and operating profits (before losses on the sale of fixed assets and interest) will be not more than £1.2m.
Confirmation of the figures comes next month when the company will also reveal its plans for refinancing to put it on a more stable footing.
In a 16 May statement Baldwins said: ‘Although the group’s turnover has been maintained in line with the board’s previous expectations, the trading performance, particularly in the USA, has continued to disappoint. The operating loss attributable to the American operations for the 12 month period to 31 March 2002 is approximately £3.4m.
‘The net interest charge for the year was approximately £5.9m and year-end borrowings were approximately £84m. In an effort to reduce the level of borrowings a number of cranes were sold during the period resulting in a loss on fixed asset disposals of approximately £2.9m.’
