Luceco PLC - Shropshire, England-based LED lighting manufacturer & distributor - Shares hit a 12-month low as it warns adjusted operating profit for 2022 will come in below previous estimates, at around GBP20 million to GBP22 million. In 2021 adjusted operating profit amounted to GBP39.0 million. "Our order book now suggests our distributor customers will destock faster in [the fourth quarter] than we originally expected," Luceco explains. It now estimates that customers will reduce their inventory levels for 2022 by about GBP20 million in total. At current activity levels, this would leave a remaining reduction of up to about GBP5.0 million for 2023, compared to the previous estimate of between GBP5.0 million to GBP10.0 million.

Says trading in the third quarter ended September 30 was in line with expectations, with strong cash flow generation. Says revenue during the period is 11% lower compared to a year ago, but 14% higher than pre-Covid period in 2019. "Demand from the UK DIY market continued to slow in [the third quarter], as expected", Luceco notes.

Last month, Luceco reported a pretax profit of GBP4.6 million in the six months ended June 30, down sharply from GBP16.6 million the previous year, as revenue fell by 1.7% to GBP106.4 million from GBP108.2 million.

Current stock price: 67.50 pence, down 8.8% on Thursday afternoon in London

12-month change: down 79%

By Xindi Wei; xindiwei@alliancenews.com

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