Joe Moran's IWP, manufacturer of everything from firelighters to airfresheners to perfume, has had a pretty difficult year on the market, with its shares plunging from a high of 467p earlier this year to 180p this week. The group's exposure to Russian markets and reduced consumer purchasing in Britain, where IWP derives almost half of its sales, are the main factors behind recent downgrades.

Recently this column commented that the downgrades had been overdone and that IWP shares were due to rebound - possibly towards the 300p level. But there is no sign of that sort of a recovery and the recent results from IWP's main competitor in the British personal care market, McBride, is unlikely to restore the Irish group's standing in the market.

McBride's shares took a hammering last week after the British group issued a profit warning because of the severe slowdown in British consumer spending. Still, forward price/earnings multiples of less than eight seem unfair for a group which has shown the happy knack of making earnings-enhancing acquisitions and a recovery from 180p does seem warranted. However, until the real extent of the slump in British retailing becomes clear, that recovery in the share price may be slow in coming. Buy for the long term would seem reasonable advice.