Distribution heavyweight Waterline is set to take itself off the AIM stock exchange following a year of bad results as the market downturn begins to bite.
Shareholders agreed to cancel the admission to AIM at a meeting held on November 10 and it is expected delisting will take on or around December 10.
In September, the company released its annual results for the year ending March 31. While revenue was up by 1.5% to £85m, pre tax profit had dropped from £906,625 to a loss of £45, 710.
Chairman Peter Dicks blamed the loss on “the hardening market place, the poor performance of Sterling against the Euro, higher than budgeted fuel cost increases and gross margin coming under attack from the competition trying to keep market share in a declining market place.”
The company also warned that since the end of March, sales were continuing to drop.
Waterline was floated on AIM in July 2005 with a market capitalization of £11m and a share price of 84p. According to a statement from the company, the floatation’s aims were to “refinance debt, provide funding for organic growth and to make complementary acquisitions.”
Performance since then has been “mixed” with significant profit growth in 2006, which then dropped back down to 2005 levels in 2007. In June 2007, ceo Michael Lawrence and members of the management team tried in vain to take the company private again, but the board rejected the 65p per share offer and instead made unsuccessful moves to find an alternative buyer.
Since then the deteriorating market has taken hold and Waterline is looking for cost cutting measures. “Since March 2008 the market and business outlook have continued to worsen,” the statement says. “Given these conditions the company has been taking steps to save costs wherever possible. The annual cost of the AIM quotation is currently in excess of £200,000.
“In addition, the company is currently, nor is likely in the foreseeable future, to be able materially to make use of or benefit from the AIM quotation.”