Profits at Witham, Essex-based components manufacturer CML Microsystems Plc have fallen again for the first six months due to a badly depressed European semiconductor market. Pre-tax profits dropped 36% to ?1.5m, while turnover fell 9% to ?6.2m. Although a stronger second half is expected, no real improvement on last year’s performance is forecast. Order books are short and customers are only ordering to cover their immediate needs. Nonetheless, the results were in line with the group’s budgets for the period, and deterioration of the markets has reportedly slowed. The group’s traffic business, Microsense Systems, performed well in both the UK and the US, and this is expected to contine in the current half. Radio Technology Data, the radia data products operation, saw a rise in market activity, but slow sales. It is thought unlikely to break even before the year-end.
