Profit warnings by listed companies have seen the biggest quarterly rise for over a decade in the final quarter of 2011, according to a new report.
Quoted companies announced they were lowering their expectations 88 times in the last months of 2011, compared with the 51 warnings which were issued in the previous three months.
According to the research by accountants Ernst & Young, it is the biggest quarter-on-quarter jump since 2001 and pushed up the total number of profit warnings last year to 278.
Warnings in the quarter from companies including retailer Mothercare, Mr Kipling cakes manufacturer Premier Foods and ailing Blacks Leisure pushed the proportion of listed companies who put out warnings in 2011 up to 14 per cent, the highest since the financial crisis first started in 2008.
Alan Hudson, head of Ernst & Young's UK restructuring practice, said: "As evidenced by the sharp jump in the number of warnings, 2011 was a tough year for many companies and this year is likely to continue in the same vein, with the gap between the winners and losers widening."
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