Read the article below about a company that sells household products. Choose the best word to fill each gap from A, B, C or D on the opposite page. For each question(19-33), mark one letter(A, B, C or D)on your Answer Sheet. There is an example at the beginning(0). DAC’s Margins Hit in Battle of the BrandsIn a surprise trading statement, DAC Household Products yesterday gave (0)___C___of lower margins and weak profits growth. Shares in the company slumped by 22p to 459p after DAC said that its forecast of double-digit earnings growth in 2009 had been【C1】______to low single digits. The company【C2】______that it had failed to spend enough on promoting its own brands and conceded that its market share in India was under assault from【C3】______discounting by various competitors. Its major rival, KC Products, is offering big price discounts to attract consumers from DAC brands, which have traditionally【C4】______the household products sector. DAC also predicted a downturn in consumer【C5】______and strong price competition in Europe, and signalled that it was making【C6】______for an expensive brands battle.DAC’s chairman, David Chan, said that sales volumes had behaved as predicted, but that waves of discounting and store promotions from rivals had adversely【C7】______price forecasts. As a【C8】______the company now needed to increase investment in advertising and introduce keener pricing.DAC had until【C9】______sought to increase revenue growth at the same time as improving profit margins. However, Chan confirmed that margins would be【C10】______as DAC increased spending on advertising and promotion to【C11】______those products under attack from competing brands. This commitment means【C12】______the long-term health of the business ahead of the【C13】______.of short-term financial targets,’ he said.Rudy Mitcham, DAC’s finance director, said that the company’s recent cost-cutting programme would be【C14】______.to help finance the increased spending, although he declined to reveal the【C15】______.amount of money it would invest in additional advertising and promotion.Example:A advice B caution C warning D threat
【C13】