Loades

Family-run engineer Loades managed to get out its results for the year to September in time to avoid its shares being suspended. But the figures themselves made predictably poor reading, with a total loss of £5.3m, including £2.4m of exceptional costs, on turnover down slightly at £9.8m. The operating result was better than 2000-1, though chairman Tony Loades says the company 'saw its short and medium term order book collapsing before its eyes' during the year, forcing 'a complete re-think of our future strategy'. This involved the closure of Loades Design last June, Loades Albany in August and Abbey Mills in a phased process from September, with most of the plant and equipment being auctioned off - hence the punitive exceptional charge. Of the old business set up by Ted Loades (who died last January) in the 1940s, only Loades Dynamics remains. This company, based in Coventry, is a precision engineer to the automotive and aerospace sectors. However, it is not clear how well it is doing and a balance sheet has not been provided for the group as a whole. Debts seems to be small though, and the company still owns a lot of property that it is looking to lease out and develop. But it is a far cry from the swinging 1960s, when Loades was a principal contractor to a thriving Jaguar.

Sector: General Industrials

Companies: Loades

Market cap: £1m

PE Forecast: n/a

Share price: 50p

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