Trackwise Designs shares plunge on profit warning

Shares in Trackwise Designs plunged by a third on Tuesday as the company issued a profits warning.

The printed circuit technology specialist swung to an interim loss on the back of challenging conditions for its radio frequency (RF) division.

Revenues fell 16% to £1.5m as RF revenue slumped 34% to £1m, driven by macro conditions and the ongoing delay in the resolution of the T Mobile/Sprint merger in the US.

This more than offset a 65% increase in revenue to £0.5m for the improved harness technology (IHT) division, leading to a £0.1m pre-tax loss compared to a profit of £0.1m the year before.

Trackwise said revenues were expected to continue to grow strongly through next year after customers and opportunities increased from 14 in June 2018 to 65 in mid-September 2019.

Chief executive Philip Johnston said that while the challenging market environment for manufacturing businesses "had a detrimental impact on customer orders, with macro and market conditions affecting our RF business, the medium-term outlook for Trackwise remains extremely positive, driven by IHT growth".

Trackwise Designs shares were down 33.53% at 84.75p at 0923 BST.

(Writing by Frank Prenesti; Editing by Michele Maatouk and Josh White)