Carclo faces 'challenging trading' in aerospace division

Carclo, which provides engineered services for the medical, optical, electronics and aerospace industries, has announced its results for the six months to September 30 2020 .

Revenue from continuing operations decreased by 11% to £50.0m and underlying operating profit from continuing operations decreased by 54% to £1.5m.

Nick Sanders, the company's executive chairman, said: "The first half of the financial year has been one of transition against a backdrop of economic uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19.

"Our priority has been to keep our employees and our communities safe whilst maximising our output during this challenging period.

"As previously announced the group reached agreement with the trustees of the Carclo Group Pension Scheme and its bank to agree a schedule of contributions to the pension fund and to extend its banking facilities to 2023. This has provided a stable platform for the group to move forward and to develop its CTP and Aerospace divisions.

"Trading in the first half of the year was adversely affected by the pandemic with the impact of lockdowns in several countries causing either disruption to our customers or our own operations.

"The group has responded swiftly to these challenges by taking advantage of government assistance where available, implementing local Health and Safety measures and adjusting shift patterns as necessary.

"Demand for CTP products in the medical diagnostics sector is increasing as a result of the pandemic and we hope to secure further new contract awards over the coming months.

"Conversely demand in the aerospace sector is significantly down on pre-pandemic levels and we have responded to this by looking for alternative sources of business and cutting costs.

"Despite this trading in the aerospace division will remain challenging for some time".