UK AWP manufacturer Barcrest Group is reported to have swung into losses under the combined pressure of the smoking ban, a tough market and restructuring costs.
Posting a pre-tax loss of £1.8m in the year to September 2008 compared with a pre-tax profit of £3.4m the previous year, the manufacturer has also seen a drop in turnover by 20.4 per cent to £32.1m from £40.4m in 2007.
Robert White, vice president and managing director of Barcrest, is reported to have said that despite these challenges the company has increased the total number of its installed machines by 45.7 per cent.
Parent company IGT also saw its profits decline 39 per cent in the quarter of 2009 which ended June 30. It has also cut 700 people - 10 per cent of its work force - since November, 2008.
