Photo-Me warns on profits as Brexit uncertainty bites

3rd Apr 2019 15:25

(Sharecast News) - Instant-service equipment group Photo-Me warned on Wednesday that full-year pre-tax would be below previous guidance as UK trading in the second half of the year was hit by Brexit uncertainty.In an update for the year ending 30 April 2019, the company said its operations in Continental Europe and Asia continued to grow in line with expectations and the performance in Japan remained strong in the second half. However, overall trading in the UK has become "more challenging than expected" as consumer activity slowed in the face of Brexit uncertainty."At the time of its interim results in December 2018, the group noted that it had experienced a delay in order decisions for its B2B machines revenue, which were expected to be recovered during the second half of the year."Due to the extended period of uncertainty in the UK, the Group now does not expect to achieve a recovery in order levels before the end of the current financial year."As a result, Photo-Me now expects profit before tax, net of restructuring costs in Japan, to be at least £42m, down from previous guidance of £44m.At 1530 BST, the shares were down 5.2% at 80p.