Xaar says 1H08 pretax profit grows 22%, but sees full year below expectations as China sales slow
Xaar plc, the inkjet printing technology group headquartered in Cambridge, reported lower revenue in the first half of 2008 but stronger pre-tax profit and its intention to pay a maiden interim dividend
Revenue was hit by a slowdown in sales of Xaar Platform 1 products into China for the six months ended 30 June 2008.
Sales of Platform 2 and Platform 3 products made good progress with continuing sales of 'developer kits'.
Revenue was £22.5m (1H07: £23.4m). Profit before tax was £3.8m (1H07: £3.1m).
The drop in sales volumes led the Board to say it now expects full year results for 2008 to be more in line with those for 2007, below the current market consensus.
This news caused the share price to slide almost 30% to 129.25p. The group is now valued at around £81.3m.
The Group had £10.7m (1H07: £10.0m) at the end of June.
