LONDON (ShareCast) - Shares in Shieldtech moved higher after the body armour supplier predicted a return to profitability after a delay in orders from UK police forces abated.

Shieldtech said trading in the six months to June 2008 had improved significantly from the preceding six months. The company’s order book had been hit by delayed procurement plans by several UK police forces due to a revision of ballistic measurement standards by the Home Office Scientific Development Branch.

Shieldtech said the order book has ‘increased substantially’ in the last quarter, with four major UK police forces ordering a combined total of £1.6m in equipment, of which £1m will be delivered in the next financial year. It said a further £500,000 order from a major overseas defence client will be delivered in 2009, adding that the current order book of £3.75m is at its highest for two years.

Despite this recent recovery, sales in the year to June 2008 fell to around £6m from £11.5m the previous year, Shieldtech said. Operating losses before non-cash charges and for share based payments are expected to be about £0.7m. of which £0.6m were registered in the first half of the company’s financial year.

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