Troubled recruitment company Marlborough has brought forward its year-end by two months to December 31st. No reason was given for the change in a three-line statement from the firm, which said its next reported results would be for the 10-month period to December 31st, 2001. The statement did not disclose when the company would announce the outcome for the 10-month period. No company spokesman was available for comment.

Up to now, Marlborough has had a February 28th year-end. Marlborough last reported results in November, when it disclosed a pre-tax loss of €1.17 million (£921,000) for the six months to end-August 2001.

This was a turnaround from a profit of €5.3 million for the corresponding period in 2000, and from a profit per share of 9.62 cents to a loss per share of 8.93 cents.

At that time, chief executive Mr David McKenna attributed the outcome to difficult market conditions and to what he said were the once-off costs of making 180 employees, or 30 per cent of staff, redundant between March and August.

Just before the first-half results were released, the company announced that Mr McKenna's plans to take Marlborough private had collapsed and its two independent directors, Mr Clive Brownlee and Mr Irial Finan, had resigned. At that time, the company refused to elaborate on its short statement, leading to speculation that the McKenna- led management team had been unable to raise funds to buy out the 55 per cent of the company held by outside shareholders.

The effect of the year-end change is to bring forward the company's accounting year-end and the latest date on which it can file accounts by two months.

Marlborough shares are currently trading at 36 cents, well off their 2001 high of 140 cents and 2000 high of 260 cents. Last year, the company issued a number of profit warnings due to the downturn in the recruitment market and a €3.5 million bad debt arising out of failures in group debt control and a €350,000 write-off against its fillthejobs.com subsidiary.

In 1992, Mr McKenna bought out Marlborough for just £6,000 (€7,623). The company was floated at €1.22 in late 1997 and Mr McKenna raised €5 million by selling shares.