Speedy crashes 45% after sales worry
A profit warning has caused shares in tool and equipment firm Speedy Hire to crash by 45% today.
The Merseyside company said it expected pre-tax profits for the year to be between £33 million and £38m, compared to £48.1m last year. It said the forecast was based on the likely prospect that revenues for the fourth quarter of the financial year will be well down on a year earlier.
Speedy Hire said ongoing uncertainty in the credit markets continued to impact on overall activity and had further reduced confidence in the general construction market.
This offset the benefit of continued strong spending by customers involved in infrastructure-related projects.
Speedy, which was formed in 1977, said it had ``significant strengths" in the challenging market and added that it continued to win new contracts.
