Trackwise Designs shares plunge on profit 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)