Second half has Brandon in the red
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Your support makes all the difference.BRANDON HIRE, the USM catering equipment and tool hire company, slipped to a pre-tax loss of pounds 291,000 in the year to 30 April. The previous year the recession- battered company reported a pre- tax profit of pounds 54,000, writes John Murray.
The full-year loss comes despite a small profit at the halfway mark, although the board warned at the time that a traditionally slower second half would push Brandon into the red.
Brian Nathan, chairman, said: 'The recession continues unabated and the impact on our turnover has been dramatic, with an 18 per cent reduction in the year.'
He added that the catering and furniture hire side of the business had maintained sales, but tool hire had suffered a big drop in turnover. However, the division may have hit bottom in April and May, as June had shown an increase over last year.
There has been pounds 500,000 worth of cost-cutting - a hire shop in Bristol and a depot in Bournemouth have gone. Capital expenditure has fallen because of deterioration in the tool hire trade.
There will be no final dividend. The total for the year is 0.1p against 3.33p in 1991.
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