Ceramics firm shares plunge by 5%

QUALCERAM SHIRES saw 5% wiped off its share price yesterday after the struggling bathroom ceramics manufacturer reported gloomy first-half results.

The Arklow-based company delivered pre-tax losses of €3.4 million for the six months to June, down from profits of €3.6 million in the same period last year. Once-off charges of 6 million that related to restructuring and redundancy costs were largely to blame for the poorer bottom line.

The company shed 220 staff earlier this year with the closure of a plant in Stoke-on-Trent in England.