Trafficmaster slams on the brakes

TRAFFIC information group Trafficmaster's £66m spending spree has come to a grinding halt with the ailing group's mounting losses ending its ill-fated foray into fleet management.

The shares, which rose to 1139p at the height of the technology boom, today dipped 11 1/2p to 38p as Trafficmaster said it was facing a 2001 pre-tax loss of £16.4m before write-offs related to the end of its majority involvement in Fleetstar, its year-old fleet management arm.

Annual turnover of £31.9m is also short of forecasts of about £34m, after Fleetstar sales of £4m fell far below original estimates. The year loss includes £1.4m in restructuring charges as Trafficmaster responded to its troubles by slashing costs. The British Fleetstar operation, which employs about 60 people, may now be sold to its management.

Trafficmaster's plans to use the £66m raised from a 1999 share placing at 700p to build a pan-European traffic-monitoring camera network has stalled. A planned expansion in France went on hold to conserve its remaining £6.5m in cash.

Chief executive David Martell said after the divestment of Fleetstar all remaining operations will be cash positive but the mass market for its traffic information would not mature until 2005.