Things have gone from bad to worse for CAB Payments in the three months since it listed on the London stock market.
The company, which specialises in money transfers to emerging markets, joined the FTSE 250 when it floated to great fanfare in July with its shares priced at 335p a pop.
But far from proving to be a fintech darling – as no doubt was hoped – the stock fell 9.5pc on the first day of trading and was down more than a third before its latest update yesterday.
And what an update it was – for all the wrong reasons – sending the shares down a barely believable 72pc, or 155.7p, to 60.8p, meaning the firm is worth just £155m.
The brutal sell-off came after CAB revealed that business has worsened over the past couple of weeks. It said this was down to ongoing uncertainties surrounding the naira, Nigeria’s currency, which has fallen sharply against the dollar since June.
CAB have said businesses has worsened over the last two weeks due to ongoing uncertainties surrounding the Nigerian naira, which has fallen sharply against the dollar since June
CAB also warned of weaker trading volumes in West African and Central African francs. As a result, revenues for this year are set to be around 17pc below previous forecasts, the company said, with profits also taking a hit.
Nick Anderson, an analyst at the investment bank Liberum, said the reputation of CAB’s management team is in ‘tatters’.
The FTSE 100 rose 0.2pc, or 14.87 points, to 7389.7. The FTSE 250, however, fell 0.4pc or 64.89 points, to 16,994.1.
Bunzl sank into the red after the distribution business said its third quarter revenues fell 8.8pc.
The company, which supplies products such as paper napkins and latex gloves, warned its revenue for 2023 would be lower than last year. Shares fell 4pc, or 115p, to 2799p. Meanwhile, WPP fired an executive detained in China on suspension of bribery.
It came after reports emerged over the weekend that police raided the Shanghai office of GroupM media agency. Shares were flat at 696.2p
There was good news for online trading platform Plus 500 as it cashed in on higher value customers using its services.
Stock Watch: FD Technologies
Shares in FD Technologies fell 32.5pc, or 422p, to 874p after it slashed its forecasts.
The group, which has three data-driven businesses, posted lower revenues and swung from a profit to a loss in the six months to the end of August.
Group revenues for the year to the end of February 2024 are expected to be between £285m and £295m – way below the previous range of £315m to £325m.
Profit should come in at £24m to £26m – down from £38m to £40m.
Revenues rose 5pc to £138m in three months to the end of September. As a result, Plus 500 said it remained on track to reach its upgraded full year forecasts for £530m of revenue and £246m of profit. Shares gained 7.1pc, or 93p, to 1400p. AG Barr bought the tropical drinks brand Rio from the brewer Hall and Woodhouse for £12.3m.
Shares in the Irn Bru maker, which also owns drinks brands such as Rubicon, Boost, and Tizer, rose 1.4pc, or 7p, to 513p.
Revenues at the IT infrastructure provider Softcat slid 8.6pc to £985.3m in the year to the end of July as hardware sales plunged by almost a quarter amid weaker demand for client devices. Shares slumped 11.9pc, or 167p, to 1238p.
Experian dropped 10.3pc, or 276p, to 2411p after the French research company DaybyDay downgraded the credit scorer from ‘hold’ to ‘sell’.
Troubled online fashion retailer Asos has delayed publication of its results – saying its auditor PwC needs more time. The company – 23pc owned by Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group (down 0.4pc, or 3p, to 794p) – was due to publish annual results today. But it will now do so on November 1. Shares dipped 2.1pc, or 8.6p, to 392.7p.
Volex said the cyber attack it suffered earlier this month had failed to cause major disruption and will cost around £1.65m, which will be recorded as a one-off charge in the second half of its financial year. The company, which makes power cords and charging plugs for electric cars, said all its sites are up and running while its annual revenues and profit should be unaffected. Shares rose 1.4pc, or 4p, to 285p.
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