RS Group PLC on Tuesday said it now anticipates a more than 10% decline in profit for its current financial year, following soft trading in its third quarter.

The industrial and electronics products distributor said group revenue in its third quarter that ended December 31 fell by around 3%, reflecting ‘declining industrial production and [purchasing manager index] data, and weaker trading in the second half of December due to more extended holiday-related plant shutdowns at many customers’.

As a result, RS expects to report adjusted profit for the year ending March 31 at the low end of a £247 million to £274 million company-compiled consensus range.

This would be, at worst, a 13% decline from £281 million the year before.

RS said Europe, Middle East & Africa like-for-like revenue saw a 3% decline during the third quarter, while the UK has seen a ‘material slowdown’ from the beginning of November.

Like-for-like revenue in Americas was up around 3%, on the back of US improvement and ‘strong’ sales growth in Mexico. Asia Pacific like-for-like revenue increased 1%.

RS said it was on track to deliver annualised cost savings of at least £30 million for the year.

Chief Executive Officer Simon Pryce said: ‘We are making good underlying strategic progress and executing better which is continuing to drive efficiency and share gains despite market conditions. We are managing our cost base effectively whilst continuing to invest to further strengthen our already differentiated proposition. This is better positioning RS to generate stronger and more sustainable growth and returns in the future, which will accelerate when the market recovers.’

RS cited full-year consensus estimates of £2.87 billion to £3.01 billion in revenue, compared to £2.94 billion last year.

Shares in RS were down 5.4% at 636.50 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

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