Shares in Staffline crashed 25% on Wednesday as the recruiter slashed profit forecasts, restated last year’s earnings and announced the departure of its chief financial officer.
The fall puts the crisis-hit recruiter’s shares down 92% this year.
The firm was first hammered when it delayed the publication of accounts in May. It later found it would have to pay more to cover botched payments to temporary workers, leading to a profit alert.
Weaker-than-expected recruitment levels from key customers, which include factories and manual labour jobs, saw demand fall 16% during November.
That forced the board to cut full-year adjusted operating profit for 2019 to £10 million to £12 million. Forecast was £17 million.
It also said profit may have been overstated by £4 million in 2018 following a further review of accounts.
Chief financial officer Mike Watts has resigned. He is replaced by temporary CFO Daniel Quint.
The share crash has put the focus on Staffline’s £50 million debt pile.
It said it was exploring strategic options, widely thought to include disposals, to cut debt next year. It added it had a “constructive relationship” with the lenders and did not expect to breach covenants.
Boss Chris Pullen said: “It has been a most challenging year for Staffline.”
Shares in the group fell 27p to 79p.
