Corus shares continue to plummet

Corus shares plummeted by more than 21% to 36.5p after the announcement as analysts reacted to the gloomier outlook from the group.

It warned that the poor economic climate meant operating results in the second half were likely to be weaker than expected.

The group said demand for steel products since early October was “not at the level expected” forecast just two months ago.

Operating losses in latter half of 2002 are expected to be around €239 million, compared with €396.5 million over the first six months.

Corus said: “This is not the pace of recovery anticipated particularly due to a squeeze on the profitability of downstream operations.”