CONSERVATORY roofing specialists Ultraframe reckon they have got to the bottom of the problem caused by wet weather hitting sales.

The Clitheroe-based company, which employs more than 500 people, is looking at building conservatory bases to ensure future profits would not be dented by persistent rainfall.

Ultraframe blamed exceptionally wet weather for a 13 per cent drop in half-year profits to around £9million.

With the ground so soggy, conservatories could not be built and demand for Ultraframe's market-leading roofing systems fell.

Financial director James Henry said the company was now considering how best to avoid a repeat of a weather-driven dip in sales in the future.

"We have thought 'can we build a base system?', because that is where the problem is," said Mr Henry, who ruled out the prospect of building complete conservatories.

"There is more money to be made by being focused on the difficult parts of the conservatory, and the roof and the base are the difficult parts."

Mr Henry is hopeful about the company's prospects for the full financial year and said he was comfortable with analysts' estimates of pre-tax profits of £27.5 million and predicted the 2002 figure would rise to about £31 million.

While UK sales will generate most of Ultraframe's profits in the near future, the group has high hopes for its fledgling North American operations.

Mr Henry said two years of preparation were now over and the loss-making Toronto-based unit was ready to compete in the potentially lucrative US market.

"It is not going to have a dramatic take-off," he said. "But it will snowball once we get started.

"We do not expect much in 2001, but we would expect to see growth in 2002."

Mr Henry said Ultraframe was also looking into the possibility of expanding into mainland Europe.