Luxury goods group Waterford Wedgwood has warned that its financial losses for the year to the end of March will be much worse than expected.
It has also announced a restructuring programme at its Rosenthal porcelain division which will result in 311 job cuts in Germany.
In a trading update, the company said it expected total sales for the financial year of €700m, a drop of 4% on the previous year.
It said sales for the period from October to the end of the year were down 3% on a year earlier at €211.2m, with evidence of a slowdown in consumer spending in many of its markets. Waterford was also hit by a delay in the receipt of funds from an issue of new shares, which affected its ability to manufacture and distribute products for the key Christmas period.
The Rosenthal restructure, which involves increased automation and outsourcing, will result in an exceptional cost of €12.5m.
