LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Sepura Plc (SEPU.L) were declining around 9 percent in the early morning trading in London after the provider of critical communications solutions reported Tuesday a first-half pretax loss of 62.1 million euros, compared to last year's profit of 6.2 million euros.
On a per share basis, loss was 21.4 cents, wider than last year's loss of 3.1 cents.
The company has recorded a non-cash 25.5 million euros impairment charge.
Adjusted loss per share was 5.3 cents, compared to profit of 1.8 cents a year ago.
Group revenue plunged to 43.3 million euros from 92.9 million euros last year. Trading during the first half of the financial year has been extremely challenging, the company said.
Order backlog increased to 86.2 million euros from 56.8 million euros last year.
The company is not declaring an interim dividend.
The company also announced the appointment of Andy Leeser as a Non-Executive Director
Looking ahead, the Board now expects revenue for the current financial year to be in the range of €125 million - €135 million, which will have a significant impact on the Group's results for the current financial year.
Looking ahead, FY18 is expected to result in a stronger financial performance, driven by the availability of new products, a strong sales pipeline, further action on cost reduction and more favourable foreign exchange rates.
Sepura said it remains in discussions with Hytera regarding a possible offer for the Group. Due diligence is underway, and a further announcement will be made in due course. There can be no certainty that an offer for the Group will be forthcoming.
In London, Sepura shares were trading at 19.81 pence, down 8.93%.
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