Kitchens turn up heat at Enodis

NOT for the first time, investors had difficulty digesting a serving from kitchen equipment supplier Enodis. The shares slumped to a five-year low of 44 1/2p as net losses for the nine months to June hit £100m.

Enodis is making money in the US but faces fierce price pressures in Britain. Kysor Warren, which makes display cases, has quality problems and is losing money. A troubleshooter boss has been brought in and £49m has been written off.

Group sales were flat in the June quarter but fell £60m to £587m over nine months. Quarterly pretax profits halved to £4m, but net losses were £91m after hefty goodwill write-offs and losses on disposals.

The group warned that markets would stay weak longer than expected. Brokers now think it might make £25m-£30m in the year to September and be lucky to improve on that next year.

Once called Berisford, Enodis has had a rollercoaster history. Its £440m US acquisition of Scotsman in 1999 sent debt soaring and led to management 'infighting'. New chief executive Andrew Allner has cut debt from £494m to £226m - but market value has dropped to £178m.

The US operations appear to be doing well, and Enodis has cash flow and 7% of the world 'food service' market. But it still has the Kysor fire to put out and admits that bringing down debt remains 'a priority'.