Micrelec Group Plc, the Richmond, Surrey-based supplier of point-of-sale equipment to petrol stations, has finally been drawn into the fire. Drawing strength from the fact that recession or no recession motorists will always need petrol, the company had, until the second half, managed to withstand the economic pressures. But, after a deceptively strong first half, with pre-tax profits up 43% and sales up 54%, profits for the full year showed a fall of 12% to UKP2m at the pre-tax level, on sales that increased at a less dramatic rate of 11% to UKP20m this figure includes, for the first time, a full year’s performance from CGF Automation Ltd and its subsidiary CMS, acquired at the end of the previous financial year. Excluding CGF, Micrelec’s sales for the year were flat, after a 25% drop-off in the second half. After having done so well in the first half, the board explained that Micrelec’s major customers, the international oil companies, have reduced their investment in service station equipment in the light of uncertainties in the oil industry. And the group’s other customers, petrol stations and industrial users, says chairman P W Beck, have reacted to the UK recession by clamping down on capital expenditure. Reacting to the fall in business, Micrelec has cut costs and restructured. The outcome of the first half of the current year, says Beck, may well be disappointing.
