MOBILE phone components manufacturer Filtronic last night pledged to stick by its troubled North-East microchip plant.

The West Yorkshire group sparked fears earlier this year when it revealed that the former Fujitsu plant in Newton Aycliffe was costing £1m a month.

It claimed last night that it is still on track to meet its current market expectations for the year ending May 31, 2001.

A statement from the board followed the share crashes which led to rumours about the company.

Mobile phone companies Ericsson and Motorola had already issued profit warnings and Filtronic, as a component maker, was rumoured to be poised to follow suit.

Shares dropped at one point this week to as low as 85p, where a year high figure reached £25.75.

Last night, however, Filtronic chief executive Professor Chris Snowden assured The Northern Echo that suggestions the Newton Aycliffe plant would need to be sold were off the mark.

When asked if the site was safe, he said: "Basically, with Newton Aycliffe, it's not a question of safeness.

"What we are doing there, as we said back in January, is exploring opportunities with both corporate and financial potential partners with a view to obviously going forward in a slightly modified manner."

This he blamed on a "change in sentiments" in the markets in recent months.

The board's statement said: it "remains of the view that the company will meet current market expectations for financial performance for the year ending May 31, 2001.

"This confidence is based upon the continuing strong level of demand for wireless infrastructure products from our businesses in Europe, USA, Australia and China."

A statement on the partnerships being considered for Newton Aycliffe is expected by the end of the financial year.