Companies: ACL   

Shares in value-added electronic components distributor Acal, supplier to the likes of Siemens, Nokia and Motorola, advanced 4p to 481.5p despite disappointing interim numbers to September. 'Its been tough' opined chairman John Curry, 'but we're reasonably satisfied and we feel the worst is certainly over'. Profits pre-goodwill and tax surrendered 13% to £7.3m, on sales figures 4% lower at £140.2m. Straight profit before tax fell to £5.95m (£7.2m). Acal was hit by tough times in all its geographical markets, with the year-on-year sales fall almost entirely due to the electronic components division. Exposed to the troubled telecoms and networking markets, sales crashed by 22%. Encouragingly its IT products and IT services businesses 'continue to see growth year-on-year at single digit percentage rates'. Furthermore, net debt eased to £21.1m (£24.7m), Acal avoided the serious inventory write-offs of many of its competitors, and the half time payout was lifted 10% to 6.7p. Nevertheless, recovery still looks some way off.