Feltex to explain profit about-face next week

Feltex Carpets will provide a more detailed explanation of its April 1 profit warning when it brings forward its third-quarter financial results announcement to next week.

Des Tolan, Feltex's chief financial officer, said under "normal circumstances" the company would not have released the results for the quarter ended March 31 until the end of April or first week of May.

However, Feltex was now working hard to get the announcement out by Thursday. "We recognise the market requires more information," Tolan said.

Feltex has faced anger and calls for explanation from investors and analysts since the warning, which knocked 30 per cent off the company's sharemarket value.

Tolan said Feltex had not received any requests for further disclosure from either the stock exchange or Securities Commission.

The April 1 announcement came within weeks of Feltex's February 23 interim results when it said it was on track to meet earnings and profit forecasts made in last year's initial public offering prospectus.

But the prospectus full-year profit forecast was slashed to between $15 million and $16 million from $23.9 million. Feltex has already posted $12.2 million of that in the first half.

Feltex blamed, among other things, the strong dollar, increased price competition and a shortage of laying contractors.

ABN Amro analyst Dennis Lee said the issue now was to what extent the third-quarter numbers and commentary would cool the market.