Dialight revenue and earnings fall with board 'confident' in recovery

Industrial LED lighting company Dialight issued its half-year results for the six months ended 30 June on Monday, reporting a fall in revenue to £80.1m from £92.7m a year ago.

The London-listed firm said its underlying profit from operating activities was £2.9m, falling from £6.5m last year, with underlying profit before tax sliding to £2.8m from £6.4m.

Underlying basic earnings per share totalled 6.4p, down from 12.8p, while non-underlying costs were nil, compared to £2.4m in the first half last year.

Looking at the statutory figures, profit from operating activities was £2.9m, down from £4.2m, with statutory profit before tax at £2.8m compared to £4m.

Statutory earnings per share were 6.4p, down from 8p.

At period end, Dialight had net cash of £7.3m, compared to £12.7m at the same time 12 months ago.

On the operational front, Dialight said it had made “improvements”, with the board expressing confidence in the second half.

It said High Bay production began in its Mexico and Malaysia facilities during the period, with reliance on its manufacturing partner reducing.

European and Australian lighting revenues and orders increased, while the US declined, although the directors said they expected “good recovery” in the second half of 2018.

“We have taken targeted actions to improve our operational performance, reducing late orders significantly since the start of the year,” said group chief executive Marty Rapp.

“This improvement is primarily due to moving an increasing proportion of our product assembly back in-house.

“On-time delivery and cost performance of our internal assembly are both excellent.”

Rapp said he was now confident that, as the firm moved toward its traditionally heavy fourth quarter, it would be able to deliver its products on time and in the quantities needed.

“As previously guided, our results for 2018 will be heavily weighted to H2 reflecting the continued resolution of our operational issues.

“Our market proposition remains compelling with the sustainability benefits of reduced energy usage, lower carbon emissions, reduced maintenance and improved safety offering real value to our customers,” Rapp explained.

“We are now resuming a more aggressive approach to delivering growth, as we transition from recovery to growth.”