6th Jul 2018 09:11
LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in legal and healthcare publisher Wilmington PLC plunged Friday as the company issued a profit warning for the current 2019 financial year.
Shares in Wilmington were down 23% Friday at 185.00 pence each.
Wilmington said: "Underlying costs will rise this year due to inflationary pressures, the full year impact of the new London HQ and IT infrastructure implemented last year and the one-off nature of certain of the cost reductions achieved last year."
As a result, the company expects "there will be a reduction in profit" for the current financial year versus the prior year "which will be in the high single digit range".
For the full year ended June 30, Wilmington expects adjusted pretax profit to be "broadly" in line with expectations. The company's revenue is predicted to total at GBP122 million, with cost reductions "offsetting the impact of the revenue shortfall".
Wilmington "did not see the recovery in trading performance previously anticipated" in the second half of the year. As a result, revenue for the full year was down about 3% on an organic basis.
Due to the "challenges experienced" in the second half, the company now expects its revenue growth for the current 2019 financial year to be in the low single digit percentage range.
The publishing company believes the "benefits from the significant actions" taken last year - investments in its digital platforms; a new London HQ; integrating the healthcare business into one - "are taking longer to materialise" than previously expected.
Wilmington recognises that the "additional effort" required to make these changes "impacted on growth plans". And that cost reduction actions "delayed the implementation, and hence, the benefits".
The company continues to believe that its investments will yield benefits and remains confident in its medium-term prospects.
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