Shares in the Anglo-Australian industrial services group Brambles have tumbled on worries about the performance of the company's pallet-leasing business.

By the market close, Brambles' shares were down 15.2% at 228.5p.

The company's pallet business - called CHEP - is the world's largest, and accounts for half of Brambles' operating profits.

CHEP posted operating profits of 567m Australian dollars ($315m; �205m) for the year to June, down 11% from the year before.

Investors were worried that margins remained under pressure, and that the European pallet business was taking longer than expected to turn around.

Operating profits rose at Brambles' other core businesses - the waste management business Cleanaway and security division Recall.

And Brambles reported a 58% rise in net profits after one-off items to A$545m.

"We have made good, solid progress and the performance of the group is improving," said chief executive Sir CK Chow.

"Assuming no material adverse change in economic conditions, we look to the future increasingly confident of our ability to deliver sustainable growth," he added.