A fresh produce and juice supplier to the catering trade says it expects to announce a significant loss for 2001, after a downturn in sales during the last part of the year.

S Daniels plc, which makes Johnsons juice and fruit products and All Fresh salads, is scheduled to reveal preliminary results for 2001 on February 22.

In a statement, the company said: 'In October [last year] Daniels warned that following a downturn in sales to hotels, airlines and airports the outlook for the remainder of 2001 was uncertain and performance was likely to fall very significantly below recent expectations.

'Trading in the final weeks of last year continued at the lower levels experienced in the autumn and the company expects to announce a loss for the year between £1 million and £1.3m, after absorbing costs of a redundancy programme and other provisions which are of a non-cash nature.' But the company is forecasting an overall return to profit during this year as in December it 'gained significant new business' for its fruit and salad lines.

Daniels also owns the New Covent Garden Soup brand, which maintained its market share in the last quarter of 2001 and announced price increases in November.