A profits warning from UK IT services company Admiral Plc caused the price of the company’s shares to plummet by almost 27% yesterday, dragging other UK hi-tech stocks down with it. Admiral’s AGM statement warned that profits for the year will grow less rapidly than last year, due to lower than expected staff utilization rates and a scaling-down of a contract with a big client. Despite the reduced staff churn, the company still expects to grow during the year, and thinks the downturn is temporary.
On the news, Admiral’s shares dropped by 287 pence to 805 pence per share, a fall of 26.93%. IT services companies Logica Plc, Misys Plc and Sema Plc were also dragged down by the warning, each down by between 7% and 8%.
