THE collapse of share prices on London's Stock Exchange has had a major impact on East Lancashire's quoted companies. Millions of pounds has been wiped off the value of the 14 companies that make up the 'East Lancashire Index' - firms which have either their headquarters or a significant presence in the area.

The aftermath of the terrorist attacks served only to reinforce the falling value of the quoted local companies who saw their share price drop by an average of 10.7 per cent, almost identical to the FTSE 100 index.

Just one of the East Lancashire Index companies saw a rise in its share price. BAE Systems flew up three per cent to 346p as if to prove the maxim that, in times of international crisis, the best place for your money is in gold, oil or defence companies.

At the bottom of the table, Clitheroe-based Ultraframe had another dreadful month which saw its share price plunge by 39 per cent.

The market appears to have lost confidence in the one-time darling of the Exchange and a second profits warning in the space of two months prompted a wave of selling which left shares worth only 207p - exactly £4 lower than in August 2000.

The company's financial public relations specialists are vainly telling everyone that the conservatory roof manufacturer is still likely to be making profits of £25 million this year. But the market has been unmoved and it is likely to take some sparkling results over the next 18 months before Ultraframe shares will recover any serious ground.

Close behind in the bad news stakes was Rishton-based carpet manufacturer Gaskell PLC. Its share price fell by 20 per cent to 36p after it announced pre-tax losses of £236,000 for the first six months of the year and warned that figures for the full year would be no better.

The warning was accompanied by news of further restructuring which involves the plant at Kidderminster being closed and all Axminster production concentrated on Rishton.

Lancashire holiday giant Airtours became caught up in the turbulence of terrorism in America. Its share price slumped 17 per cent to 206p, largely after the attacks on New York and Washington, amid global fears over travel and tourism.

Some of the gloss came off last year's top-performing East Lancashire share, support service company Enterprise plc. After romping through the £2 a share barrier, the price has dropped by six per cent to 190p despite the company reporting a reasonable set of results for the half year. JJB Sports, another of last year's risers, had a poor month. Amid news of a visit by the Office of Fair Trading investigating the alleged price-fixing of replica football shirts, the share price fell by 11 per cent to 382p. JJB said it had never been involved in in price-fixing of shirts or any other product. The share price of Blackburn-based Interlink Foods went a little stale, falling by 13 per cent to 335p after having broken through the £4 a share barrier at one point in the month. Sales 'stable'

HOUSEHOLD products manufacturer McBride plc has announced a pre-tax profit for the year up to the end of June of £16.4 million - £10 million down on the previous year.

The company, the largest of its kind in Europe, employs around 300 people at its detergent factory in Burnley.

McBride reported sales 'stable' at £497.6 million and announced a final dividend of 2p per share.

In a statement to shareholders, the company said sales of private label household and personal care products in Europe had grown, particularly in France and Spain. In the UK household cleaner products continued to gain market share, but laundry products were under pressure. RATCATCHER-to-security services group Rentokil is upbeat about its future despite a dip in half year profits and turnover.

The group, which includes the Initial security operations in Blackburn, reported a fall in turnover from £1.42 billion to £1.10 billion and a slump in pre-tax profits from £207 million to £174 million.

Rentokil insists that its recent restructuring had put the company back on track to earnings growth for the rest of the year.

"Our new business model and other initiatives, together with bolt-on acquisitions, are leading to accelerating organic turnover growth and improved operating margins," said the company. Downturn 'opportunities'

AXIOMLAB, the company headed by Ray Ingleby, Burnley FC's deputy chairman, has announced its first full results since being admitted to the Alternative Investment Market.

The company, which invests in technology-based businesses, made a pre-tax loss of £2.439 million after providing £1.75 for a number of internet-related investments.

In his chairman's statement, Mr Ingleby said Axiomlab had now had nine companies within its investment portfolio.

"Since coming to the market, our focus has been technology investments with a focus on software," he said. "Against the backdrop of the general market, we have decided to make a prudent general provision against the three internet investments in our portfolio.

"However, using the skills of our team, we have adopted alternative strategies for these businesses which we are confident will lead to the creation of shareholder value in the future.

"The current downturn in the technology sector has provided Axiomlab with enhanced opportunities to source deals on more favourable terms and we have a strong pipeline of potential investments currently under review."