The parent company of Skipton-based Dales Pharmaceuticals Ltd expects its results in the first half of the financial year to be down.

In a trading update, veterinary and health product manufacturer Dechra Pharmaceuticals plc said it hopes to see an improvement in performance in the second half of the year.

Last September Dechra reported its pre-tax profits had soared 30 per cent to £7.6 million.

The firm also announced a rise in turnover - up nearly nine per cent from £156 million to £170 million.

Dales, whose managing director is Mike Annice, employs 80 people. It is the in-house manufacturing arm of Dechra, developing a wide variety of veterinary drugs. While Dales is performing well, Dechra's other divisions have encountered problems.

National Veterinary Services (NVS), which is Dechra's principal trading subsidiary, has experienced a fall in sales.

Anglian Pharma, which merged with Dales last year, is not operating at full efficiency yet.

Anglian makes a variety of health care products including remedies for dry mouth and snoring.

A spokesman for the firm said: "Whilst it is difficult at this stage to predict the trading outcome for the year as a whole, current indications are that the interim results for the six months ended December 31 2002 will be below that of the comparable period, however, we expect to see an improved trading performance in the second half." In April Dechra announced the acquisition of two other firms, North Western Laboratories Ltd and Cambridge Specialist Laboratory Services, in a deal worth £2.7 million.

For the year ending March 2001, NWL and Cambridge had audited sales of £1.569 million and operating profits of £177,000.

Dechra acquired the firms to extend the range of services available to vets.

It also recently completed a £2.8 million capital investment programme at Dales which is expected to quadruple its sales to £20 million.

The financial fortunes of Dechra will be revealed to shareholders on March 4 when the firm announces its interim results.