Shares in engineering group Unidare have fallen to their lowest level for two years after the group reported a heavy fall in half-year profits and warned that the second half of the year would be no better. Unidare shares fell 22 cents to #1.40 (£1.10) and stock was on offer at that closing level.

Shareholders are being forced to share the pain, with the interim dividend slashed from 6.5 cents to three cents per share.

At last March's annual general meeting, Unidare had signalled that pre-tax profits for the first half of the year would fall from #5 million (£3.94 million) to #1.5 million.

But in a statement issued with yesterday's results, chairman Mr Jack Hayes said: "The results for the second half are unlikely to differ materially from the first half." This suggests that Unidare profits for the full year are unlikely to be more than #3 million compared to #10.9 million last year.

Unidare's problems are mainly in North America, which includes the ORS oilfield supplies acquisition so vehemently opposed by a group of shareholders led by Mr Dermot Desmond and Mr Pierce Casey. Unidare's Eland welding business in the UK had a 7 per cent fall in sales while the Oerlikon business in Ireland and the UK and the welding business in Belgium also weakened.