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Luceco PLC - Shropshire, England-based LED lighting manufacturer & distributor - Shares hit a 12-month low as it warns adjusted operating profit for 2022 will come in below previous estimates, at around £20 million to £22 million. In 2021 adjusted operating profit amounted to £39.0 million. "Our order book now suggests our distributor customers will destock faster in [the fourth quarter] than we originally expected," Luceco explains. It now estimates that customers will reduce their inventory levels for 2022 by about £20 million in total. At current activity levels, this would leave a remaining reduction of up to about £5.0 million for 2023, compared to the previous estimate of between £5.0 million to £10.0 million.
Says trading in the third quarter ended September 30 was in line with expectations, with strong cash flow generation. Says revenue during the period is 11% lower compared to a year ago, but 14% higher than pre-Covid period in 2019. "Demand from the UK DIY market continued to slow in [the third quarter], as expected", Luceco notes.
Last month, Luceco reported a pretax profit of £4.6 million in the six months ended June 30, down sharply from £16.6 million the previous year, as revenue fell by 1.7% to £106.4 million from £108.2 million.
Current stock price: 67.50 pence, down 8.8% on Thursday afternoon in London
12-month change: down 79%
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