DETERGENT to shampoo maker McBride, which has a major site in Burnley, reported a profits slide after a "challenging" year.

McBride, which makes household and personal care products for retailers including Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Boots to sell under their own brand names, saw pre-tax profits for the year to June 30 of £17.9 million, down from £34.1 million.

Turnover was £496.8 million, up from £468.4 million last year.

Sales in the UK dropped from £272.9 million to £265.1 million, as the business was hit by competition from branded products, including the new tablet washing powders.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.