Companies: SND   

Shares in mini-conglomerate Send crashed by 25% after it warned that worse-than-expected order inflow at modular building subsidiary Rollalong will knock the group into losses this year. The £1.3m loss expected from continuing operations is quite a reversal from house broker Old Mutual's previous forecast of £1.7m pre-tax profits. It will be exacerbated by a £900,000 provision on the likely closure of glass bottle manufacturer Lewis & Towers' factory in Kent due to the poor state of its furnace. Send expects Rollalong's prospects to pick up next year as delayed orders from the public sector start to come through. It is also encouraged by the prospects for its glass businesses, given sector contraction. But despite this, and last year's £1.9m pre-tax profit, investors would be advised to steer clear for now. This was no run-of-the-mill profit warning.