STRUGGLING conservatory giant Ultraframe's profits have fallen by over 60 per cent and it is involved in a "bare knuckle" fight to turn around its fortunes.

But group chief executive, David Moore, today said the company was determined to put things right and that he expected the company to recover in the second half of 2005.

Ultraframe, which employs more than 500 people in Clitheroe, today announced pre-tax profit for the year ending October 1 was £12million, down from £32million the previous year, a fall of 62.5 per cent.

Sales were down by 18.7per cent compared with the previous year and the company blamed a "volatile and competitive market".

Ultraframe's expensive North American franchise, Four Seasons, acquired in 2001, also saw a decline in sales of more than four per cent and the company is embroiled in a law-suit.

Ultraframe has had four profits warnings this year and in October,14 managers were made redundant at its Clitheroe headquarters.

Over the past three years more than £500million has been wiped off the company's value. At its peak in 2000, Ultraframe's shares were trading at more than £6 a share but hit an all-time low of 66p this year.

The company said it expected the tough market conditions to continue into the first half of 2005 but said it was responding to a change in customer profile as young families start to become the main buyer rather than the typical over 50s market.

Mr Moore said the company's operating performance had been "disappointing" as the company struggled against challenges but he said the board were "determined" to turn it around.

He said: "We found there has been a big slow down in home improvement expenditure.

"Our typical over 50s market was no longer booming for us and we found that while their budgets were lower it is now the younger family market that are buying conservatories and so we have been changing our product range to reflect this and have also had some managerial changes.

"Make no bones about it we are in a bare knuckle fight to make sure our business is repositioned and that we start to turn this company around.

"We do expect market conditions to continue to be tough for a while but by the second half of next year we should see this start to see some positive momentum as our new product range, strategy and management team start to bed in."

The company's share price dropped by 11p early today to 71p.