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LPA Group PLC on Wednesday reported a narrowed pretax loss reflecting strategic progress which helped drive an improvement in half-year sales. In the six months to March, the Saffron Walden, Essex-based engineering of electronic and electro-mechanical components and systems, said its pretax loss narrowed to £0.4 million from £0.6 million a year prior. Revenue climbed to £11.6 million from £9.1 million. LPA saw a positive impact on revenue growth coming through, which has continued into the second half of the current year, it said. LPP said the gross margin improved slightly and will increase further as the volume levels increase and fixed overhead is absorbed. ‘We invested in sales and distribution costs particularly in our aviation business and this resulted in an operating loss in the first half which again should be absorbed with top line growth,’ the company added. LPA said it has secured a number of large contracts for its rail business but the programmes have been highly disrupted with announcements suggesting projects such as Adessia and HS2 are being delayed and now targeted into 2027 delivery. Nonetheless, LPA expects full-year results in line with current market expectations. Chair Robert Horvath said: ‘We continue to make progress in strategically repositioning the group and its customer base, with aviation now representing 26% of our business. Whilst the outlook for the second half of the year is challenging, given the delays on certain rail contracts as previously announced, we are confident in our long-term growth and delivering for our shareholders. We expect to deliver results for the full year in line with current market expectations.’ No dividend was declared, unchanged from a year prior. Shares in LPA rose 1.9% to 67.79p each in London on Tuesday. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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