STEEL bar and wire rope producer Arthur Lee & Sons saw its annual

pretax profits collapse from #5.1 million to #861,000, figures out

yesterday show.

The results to September 30 were principally due to the worldwide

recession, said chairman Peter Lee.

Mr Lee said trading conditions in most of the group's steel operations

showed little sign of improvement.

However, its plastics division was faring better, mainly due to orders

from the entertainment industry.

Arthur Lee is declaring an unchanged final dividend of 4.25p, making a

total for the year of 5.9p, the same as the previous 12 months.