Political uncertainty in the run-up to the General Election has put a brake on sales of cutting edge disposal systems at Shipley-based waste specialists the PM Group.

Although the company drove up turnover by seven per cent to £7.8 million in the six months to the end of December, profits slumped from £425,000 to £335,000.

The firm, which is a leading designer, manufacturer and service provider of vehicle on-board weighing systems for the growing waste management market, said poorer profitability had been caused by a higher level of lower margin sales.

Ken Jackson, chairman of PM Group, commented this morning: "The delay in sales has been caused by the political uncertainty surrounding a pending General Election and a return to strong growth is expected within 12 months.

"The board believes that the company is in an excellent position to seize the opportunities in the waste management market and expects strong growth in sales and profitability as councils implement incentives to UK households to reduce levels of domestic refuse."

The company said sales of BinWeigh disposal systems had still been lower than anticipated and gave rise to concerns over forecasted second half growth in the group's trading statement of March 2.

However, PM said there was a strong order book with France, Germany and Ireland delivering profits at predicted levels.

There had also been an "encouraging" contract win in Guernsey and significant progress in product development.

PM's chief executive Geoff Mountain, who set up the firm in 1985, told the Telegraph & Argus that only sales of BinWeigh equipment, used by councils to collect household waste, had been affected by the uncertainty.

He said this had been due to the delay in the proposed Neighbourhood Bill, which gave councils more freedom in how they disposed of waste.

"Sales for all other product lines are in line with budget," said Mr Mountain.

"And sales for BinWeigh are in the pipe. We believe it to be a short term blip.

''It might only be until July or maybe August.

"Inquiry levels for the product are significantly up."

Mr Mountain revealed that PM was poised to launch a new product range within the next six weeks which it hoped would boost sales significantly.

He said this included a new generation of touch screen displays, new communications technology for the BinWeigh system and new global positioning systems to locate disposal vehicles.