Manganese Bronze hit by slowing London Taxi sales

London Taxi manufacturer Manganese Bronze Holdings PLC (LSE: MNGS) saw its shares lose a fifth of their value after it announced that sales in the four months to the end of April were down 18.8 percent from the same period a year earlier and that is closing its US operations due to ongoing losses.

The company had already flagged it was suffering from the uncertain macroeconomic conditions. In today’s interim management statement, It explained the fall in sales to 699 vehicles in the first four months of 2009 from 860 a year earlier with the economic background combining with exceptionally strong sales in March last year.

Investors were focusing on the figures and the hiccup for the group’s expansion plans and had sent the share down by as much as 22 percent by midday trade. Manganese started to claw back some of the losses later in the session and was trading down 19 percent in late afternoon deals.

Due to ongoing losses, and the depressed nature of the US advertising industry, the decision has been taken to close the group's operation in the US, London Taxis North America (LTNA) by the end of July 2009.

Manganese said it has signed up for the UK car scrappage incentive scheme which commenced on May 18 2009.

The group's relationships with banks remain good with total facilities non-utilised of £4.3 million as at April 30 2009.


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