Coral Products swings to FY loss

Plastic products manufacturer Coral Products warned on Monday that it would be lossmaking in FY25 as a result of a reduction in both revenues and gross margins.

Coral Products said it had experienced reduced order levels from core customers in both the telecoms sector, affected by a sustained reduction in housebuilding and infrastructure projects in the UK, and the FMCG and automotive markets, which appear to have been impacted by a general reduction in consumer spending.

The AIM-listed group stated impact on revenues was expected to be partially offset by contract wins on the back of its £3.0 million investment in new machinery albeit delivering a reduced gross margin mix. Consequently, revenues for FY25 were expected to be in line with the prior year.

However, Coral stated that with the change in revenue mix from higher to lower margin channels and no recovery in core markets or visible improvement in consumer confidence, it now anticipates a year-on-year margin shortfall of up to 500 basis points and, as a result, group trading for FY25 was now expected to record a loss.

As of 1015 BST, Coral Products shares had sunk 22.67% to 6.38p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com