Shares in TV set-top box maker Pace today jumped 10% as traders hoped that chairman Allan Leighton and his new management team can turn it around.
Pace admitted pre-tax profits crashed by half to $54 million (£34 million) in 2011 after a torrid period that saw it issue three profit warnings.
Like-for-like revenues fell 7% to $2.4billion as Pace suffered from major supply-chain problems, notably caused by last autumn’s Thai floods.
But the Yorkshire-based firm offered some hope as it expects underlying profit growth of 7% this year. Chief executive Mike Pulli, who was promoted to chief executive by Leighton, pictured, in December, pointed out Pace has hiked its dividend and insisted most of its problems were internal and could be fixed quickly.
“The space we’re in is low margin, high volume,” conceded Pulli, who has been at Pace for eight years. “What we need to do is to get back to controlling the company — the supply chain, the procurement.”
However, he noted the market for set-top boxes is set to grow 10% a year until 2015 as consumers embrace pay TV and internet-enabled devices.
Pace shares, up 8p at 89p, have doubled from a low of 43p in November but the stock remains more than 50% below a year ago.
