UK company profit warnings on rise

The number of profit warnings issued by British companies jumped to 75 in the third quarter, the biggest quarterly rise in almost six years as economic pressures weighed on retailers and support service companies, business services group EY has said writes Paul Sandle, Andy Bruce and Elizabeth Piper.

The spike came straight after one of the biggest falls recorded in the previous quarter, when there were 45 warnings, and is significantly ahead of the average of 62 in the third quarter, EY said yesterday.

“Summer brought more mixed fortunes for UK plcs with the contrast between accelerating overseas markets and the slowing UK economy increasing,” said EY’s head of restructuring Alan Hudson. “Many businesses besieged by pricing pressures before Brexit are also now feeling the brunt of rising domestic uncertainty and rising costs.”