Havelock Europa rallies on upbeat trading update

Shop and officer fitter Havelock Europa said trading for the year ended 31 December was in line with its expectations and the company’s cost-reduction measures were beginning to bear fruit.

The group, which announced plans to shed about 50 jobs back in September, said the business continues to focus on careful management of its working capital and is now debt free, with net cash of £1m compared with £200,000 the year before.

Chief executive David Ritchie said: “We are beginning to see the benefits of the measures taken in late 2015 and, although trading continues to be challenging, particularly in the retail sector, we are encouraged to enter 2016 with an order book of £23m for in-year delivery which is 15% up on 2015."

The company issued a profit warning in November as a result of deferred orders from a number of customers in the retail and financial sectors.

At 1111 GMT, Havelock shares were up 41.5% to 8.49p.