Dialight cuts full-year profit estimate on order delays

* Expects full-year pretax profit to be at least 14.5 mln stg

* Co says some order deliveries delayed to 2014

* Shares fall as much as 26 percent (Adds analyst comment; updates share movement)

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Light (Other OTC: LGSXY - news) products maker Dialight Plc (LSE: DIA.L - news) said it expects to report a lower full-year profit, citing delays in deliveries of some orders from its U.S.-based customers, sending its shares down as much as 26 percent.

Dialight's shares were trading at 628 pence at 0906 GMT, making the stock one of the top percentage losers on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday morning.

The company, which assembles light emitting diode units and supplies them to commercial customers, said it now expects underlying full-year pretax profit from continuing operations to be at least 14.5 million pounds ($23.78 million).

It had earlier estimated 2013 results to be broadly in line with the year earlier. Dialight reported a pretax profit of 19.8 million pounds in the full year ended Dec. 31, 2012.

"We believe Dialight is facing issues in managing growth rather than issues with the market or competition," Canaccord Genuity analyst Bob Liao wrote in a note, cutting his target price on the stock to 1150 pence from 1450 pence. Liao kept his "buy" rating on the stock.

Dialight, which gets over 70 percent of its revenue from the United States, said a change in the distribution model for its obstruction business would also hurt results.

The company hired new sales people in 2013 to market its obstruction business products, switching away from established distributors.

"About 60 percent of Dialight's sales force has less than one year of experience," Liao said.

The signal unit, which includes Dialight's obstruction business, makes led lighting for telephone towers and roads, and accounts for about 40 percent of the company's sales.

($1 = 0.6098 British pounds) (Reporting By Esha Vaish in Bangalore; Editing by Supriya Kurane)