Andor shares take a nosedive

SHARES in Andor Technology dived nearly 10% yesterday after the Belfast-based digital imaging company issued a profit warning.

The company, which listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (AIM) last year, blamed changes in its production processes for a once-off drop in output in the three months to June. “While we remain confident that both revenues and profit will be in excess of the interims, we believe that profits for the year ended 30 September will be materially lower than market expectations,” the company told the stock exchange.

Andor said the loss suffered while the new procedures were bedding down would not be recovered before year-end.

But there was good news for the future as it told shareholders the new practices, which automate several labour-intensive operations previously done by hand, meant output would be “consistently higher” than in the past.

The company also said reaction to a new specialist camera product was strong with orders for the device up by 45% since March.

“The board believes that the increased manufacturing capacity and the growing demand for its products underpins Andor’s future growth in 2006 and beyond and consequently remains confident in the outlook for the business in the future,” the company said.

Shares fell 9½p to 96p on yesterday’s news, the lowest level seen since the company listed last December. Investors that ploughed into Andor when it went public are now sitting on losses of around 25%. The company, set up as a Queen’s University campus spin-off venture in 1989, is valued at around €37 million.