LONDON -- Holders Technology reported a first-half loss on lower sales of printed circuit board materials and equipment.

Holders, a major distributor of everything from laminates to solder mask to drills and routers, reported pretax losses of £0.1 million ($157,000) for the period ended May 31, down from income of £10.1 million a year ago. Revenue slipped 20.1% to £8 million ($12.6 million) for the period.

Holders said in a statement that demand in Europe's PCB market has picked up of late and the company sees improvements ahead in the second half.

Ed.: 1 GBP = $1.57018