Profit warnings fall in Yorkshire despite challenging market
PROFIT WARNINGS amid Yorkshire companies have fallen at a significant rate.
There were four profit warnings issued by Yorkshire quoted companies between July and September this year, according to EY’s latest Profit Warnings report.
This compares to seven in the previous quarter and 10 for the same period last year.
With 17 profit warnings issued in the first two quarters of the year, this takes the total number of warnings to 21 for 2019. By this time last year, 24 profit warnings had been issued within the region.
In the nine months to the end of September, UK quoted companies issued 235 profit warnings, the highest year to date total since 2008. In July, August and September, EY recorded 77 profit warnings from UK listed businesses, up from 69 in the previous quarter and 13 per cent higher than the same period 2018.
Just over a third of profit warnings issued in the third quarter 2019, explicitly cited the impact of macro-economic volatility, with a further 30 per cent blaming contract delays or cancellations.
Hunter Kelly, inset, EY Restructuring Partner for Yorkshire, said: “The Yorkshire and Humber region has seen a significant reduction in profit warnings this quarter, compared to the summer. However, despite a reduction in our region, it is clear that UK businesses are feeling the effects of domestic concerns and the growing impact of escalating political and trade tensions across the globe.
“The negative effect of protracted and widespread uncertainty is evident, with warnings across all FTSE sectors.
“Although the economy is in better shape now than it was in 2008, there are clear parallels in terms of the sheer unpredictability. Profit warnings aren’t an absolute measure of performance, but they do track a company’s ability to meet their forecasts, which is clearly more difficult in an uncertain environment.”
In the last 12 months, almost 18 per cent of UK listed companies have issued a profit warning – the highest figure since quarter four 2008.