It's always darkest before the dawn goes the old saying. The trouble right now is nobody knows for sure when dawn is coming.
In the meantime the news does not get any better. Electrocomponents issued an interim statement which in essence indicates sales are falling across all its markets. In the statement it says that the Purchasing Manager Indices in all its major markets have fallen to record lows and customers are deferring projects and have extended plant shutdowns.
We shouldn't be surprised as both AFDEC in the UK and other industry research companies have been scrabbling to revise their forecasts (downwards naturally) after clear indications that sales dropped alarmingly in October and November and that December was unlikely to offer any respite.
Group sales at Electrocomponents from October 1 to December 19 are down by around 5 per cent. The UK fell 6 per cent, international sales by about 5 per cent.
This doesn't make for good news going into 2009 and the company says it will accelerate planned cost reduction actions which will slice £15m off the cost base on an annualised basis in the next financial year.
Increased e-channel share, a European logistics strategy, benefits from the Group's EBS platform and local initiatives will all play a role.
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