Tommy Clarke cautious for 2004

Shares in T Clarke were down 10% at 537.5p after the electrical engineering and contracting firm unveiled a 17% fall in full year pre-tax profits to £8.94m on turnover that slipped 1% to £143.3m.

Chairman Russell Race also offered a cautious outlook for the group for the new financial year, saying that the realisation of profits in line with 2003 would depend on the timing of the upswing of demand in the London commercial market.

Despite the downbeat full-year figures and cautious outlook, T Clarke said it was confident that the long-term prospects for its markets were more promising and that there had been positive signs of renewed activity in its core markets.

The company has won a number of new projects, including Bishop’s Square, Bishopsgate, London, Cardinal Place, Victoria, and BBC West One, London, improving its visible earnings stream into 2005 and 2006.