UK technical plastics specialist Carclo (Ossett / UK; www.carclo.co.uk) warned investors last week that profits for its 2018 financial year would be “significantly below” expectations. It also revealed the group’s former CEO would be taking charge of reviving the fortunes of its struggling LED Technologies business.

In a trading update published last week, Carclo said a series of problems had affected output levels at its LED Technologies arm and while progress is being made – including reducing a customer order backlog – it expected that the work required to turn the business around would “take some time to complete.” The firm did not say when it thought the problems would be resolved. Costs relating to the turnaround, including hiring consultants to help the business get back on its feet, would decrease in the coming months, Carclo said, but the burden would still result in its profits “falling significantly short” of the group’s expectations.

Carclo said the group’s recently resigned CEO Chris Malley was parachuted in, taking over as divisional chief executive of LED Technologies, to oversee the work needed to turn the LED business around. A replacement group CEO is being recruited. In the meantime, non-executive chairman Mark Rollins is taking executive charge of the overall business, it added.

Last year, Carclo saw off a hostile takeover bid by Consort Medical (Hemel Hempstead / UK; www.consortmedical.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 10.08.2018 – months after posting pre-tax profit for 2017 of GBP 8.2m (EUR 9.2m), down nearly a fifth. And in November 2018, the group reported first half 2018 pre-tax profits were down by 22%, fuelled in part by what it called “production inefficiencies” at its LED operation.

Carclo will announce its results for the year to 31 March 2018 on 4 June 2019.