LONDON -- Lamprell (LSE: LAM.L) slumped 52 pence, or 42%, to 71 pence this morning to become the session's heaviest casualty in early trade.
The engineering services contractor admitted forthcoming first-half losses would be wider than expected and said waivers to certain banking covenants were now being sought.
Lamprell claimed "a further review of its financial position" had unearthed additional costs relating to certain project delays.
First-half losses are now expected to be approximately $45 million, versus the $20 million previously forecast.
The contractor also scrapped its full-year profit guidance, and said a 12-month loss of between $12 million and $17 million should now be expected.
Today's statement follows a botched profit warning in early June, when Lamprell issued the bad news through an AGM statement released five minutes after the market had closed. The company had published the AGM's voting results earlier in the day.
The AGM fiasco was preceded by a controversial profit warning in May, which saw two senior managers sell shares around 360 pence to raise a total of 1.6 million pounds just two weeks before.
With Lamprell's shares down a thumping 81% since their May peak, clearly the business has its problems. Certainly in today's knife-edge market, smaller companies can be punished severely if they hit trouble.
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