LOSSES at x-ray technology group Bede have grown after orders came in at the lower end of expectations.

The Durham company said weak orders during the second quarter trickled in to the third as it announced pre-tax losses had increased to nearly £1.7m in the three months to September 30 from £400,000 in the same period a year before.

Bede, which is based at Belmont Business Park, said its sales for the period were £500,000, compared to £2.2m last year, and order bookings were £900,000, compared to £4.4m.

Finance director David Hall said: "The past couple of quarters have been difficult in terms of closing the orders. There is no evidence that we are losing business due to competition.

"Our key market is the big chip makers, for things like computers, and they have used their own tried-and-tested measurement techniques for years.

"As chips become more sophisticated and smaller, our techniques for measurement become more appropriate and there is growing recognition of the need to use alternative measurement techniques.

"The challenge we have is getting some of the big players to switch from their own techniques to ours."

In July, the group announced lower-than-expected order bookings during the first half, which led to cost-cutting measures and job losses affecting about seven per cent of the workforce.