FireAngel swings to loss in year of 'significant disruption and distraction'

Home safety outfit FireAngel warned investors on Thursday that its full-year results would fall short of market expectations, swinging to an underlying loss of £2m from a £4.7m underlying profit last time.

FireAngel, the former Sprue Aegis until a name change in June last year as it attempts to transition into a business that delivers technology and solutions as part of an extended 'connected home' product set, expects to report a 30% drop in sales to £37.6m.

Furthermore, the AIM-listed outfit booked exceptional charges of £3.6m and share-based payments charge of £100,000 in the year ended 31 December. The previous year's underlying profit was before exceptional charges of £4.2m.

FireAngel, which warned on profits in November, said the disappointing figures were the result of "a year of significant disruption and distraction for the company". The exceptional charges relate to £1.1m of provisions against stock and disposal costs, £0.9m of incremental production ramp-up costs and £1.6m for the restructuring of distribution channels.

Looking forward, the company noted that, while it was disappointed in its financial performance, it remains confident that its transition from a self-contained hardware safety products provider to a "more integrated safety solutions provider" would underpin strong medium to longer-term growth and profitability.

Chairman John Conoley, who joined FireAngel earlier in the month to allow former executive chair Graham Whitworth to focus on execution, said: "The company had a challenging year in 2018 and has been very active in addressing the issues it has faced."

"The opportunity presented by growing demand for connected home solutions is significant and I look forward to contributing to the company during this next phase of growth."

As of 0840 GMT, FireAngel shares had tumbled 24.59% to 29.56p.