Engineering company Unidare has reported a sharp fall in pre-tax profits but said it was committed to improving every aspect of its business to improve future profitability. The company reported pre-tax profits of €3.1 million (£2.44 million) in the year to the end of September compared with €10.6 million in the same period last year.

The group incurred an exceptional charge of €1.4 million from the sale of Unidare Benelux and the withdrawal from production at Unidare Cutting and Welding.

Chairman Mr Jack Hayes said trading conditions would continue to be extremely difficult. Unidare will not pay a dividend to shareholders.