Morse shares tank on "disappointing" results

Integrator posts drop in sales and profits and will part company with FD with immediate effect

Morse’s share price sank 6 per cent this morning after the integrator posted “disappointing” full-year results.

The London-listed integrator posted a 9 per cent drop in adjusted pre-tax profits to £11.1m for its fiscal year to the end of June. Revenues dropped fractionally to £253.3m, and Morse admitted poor progress in its services business was to blame for the drop in both its top and bottom lines.

The firm’s hare price tanked 6 per cent on the news and in a separate statement Morse announced that its group financial director, Eric Dodd, will step down with immediate effect. He will be replaced immediately by Mike Phillips, who was previously acting as interim finance director for Data Explorers.

Kevin Loosemore, executive chairman of Morse, said: “This was a disappointing year for Morse. Growth in services was not achieved, leaving revenue broadly flat year on year and profit before exceptionals down per cent.”

Loosemore said losses were recorded on a number of fixed price contracts in its Business Applications Services business, adding that gross margins reduced across most of the business and that Spain continued to perform poorly in the second half.
But he added: “We continue to believe that once operational issues are fixed, strong execution of our current combination of business should be able to produce our target of 7.2 per cent operating margin in the medium term."