Profits Warning At Printing.Com

Crain’s Manchester Business:

Shares in Printing.com slid today after it issued a profit warning, saying trading in November and December was 3 per cent down on 2007.

The shares were down 17 per cent at 22p when the market opened.

In a trading update, the company said client confidence had suffered due to the economic uncertainty, reversing a 9 per cent sales increase in the first six months to September 30.

Orders have fallen for end-client advertising material, which is more than 90 per cent of the Trafford Park-based company’s business.

Printing.com, headed by chief executive Tony Rafferty, has invested an extra £125,000 in a “January sale” promotional push which it said had pulled in 2,400 new clients and arrested the sales decline.

It also admitted to problems at some of its bolt-on franchises, design, printing or web consultants who have added the Printing.com offering to their other services. It said some had seen bigger revenue falls than Printing.com.