Business
B&M shares plunge as finance chief quits over ‘embarrassing’ accounting error
Discount retailer B&M has slashed its profit guidance for the second time in a month, following the discovery of a £7m accounting error.
In a surprise announcement on Monday, the London-listed firm also confirmed its finance chief plans to step down.
The company stated that £7m in overseas freight costs were “not correctly recognised in cost of goods sold,” an issue it linked to an operating system update earlier this year.
It told investors that the underlying issue has been resolved, but that it will have a financial impact on its results this year.
Adjusted earnings for the half year to September are set to have been around £191m, reducing its previous estimate of £198 million.
B&M said group adjusted earnings are now set to be between £470m and £520m for the financial year, having previously guided to between £510m and £560m.
Bosses at the retail firm said they intend to launch a comprehensive “third-party review” into the incident.
It added that it still expects like-for-like sales growth to be “between low-single-digit negative and low-single-digit positive levels” over the second half of the year.
The update comes only two weeks after B&M blamed soaring costs and a slump in sales as it warned over profits.
It had reported a worse-than-expected 1.1% drop in UK like-for-like sales in the second quarter of the year.
Meanwhile, the firm also said it was impacted by a £30m jump in wage costs and a £14m hit in packaging taxes over the latest half-year.
It therefore launched a series of turnaround measures in an effort to help improve its performance, including cutting prices of some of its key value items.
On Monday, B&M also confirmed that chief financial officer Mike Schmidt has said he will step down from the role.
It has launched a search for his replacement, with Mr Schmidt staying on until the new finance boss is appointed.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: “Just when it looked as if life couldn’t get any worse for B&M, along comes an accounting error which has ultimately cost the finance boss his job.
“The situation is highly embarrassing for the board and even worse for shareholders.
“While CFO Mike Schmidt hasn’t been fired, there was no way he could have stayed with the company given the severity of the error discovered in the retailer’s accounts.”
Shares were down 17.9% to 178.1p on Monday morning, slipping to record low levels.
It is unusual for a senior figure at the Bank to be so forthright on market movements.
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Consumer confidence has fallen for the third consecutive month amid household “jitters” over rapid price rises, figures show.
GfK’s long-running consumer confidence index fell four points to minus 25 in April, following falls of two points and three points in March and February respectively.
The deepening concern was driven by perceptions of the UK economy, with a six-point slide in confidence for the next 12 months to minus 43, its lowest level since February 2023.
Confidence in personal finances over the coming year fell five points to minus four – one point lower than this time last year.
The major purchase index – an indicator of confidence in buying big ticket items – held steady, albeit at minus 18 but one point better than last April.
The only measure to improve was the savings index – often an indication that households are concerned about their finances and looking to build contingency funds – which is up five points to 32.
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said: “Consumers really do have the jitters now.
“It is a year since we last saw a monthly drop of this size, and we have to go back to October 2023 to find the last time consumer confidence was lower.
“Everyone is grappling with rapid price rises, especially at the fuel pumps, which are taking a dent out of household budgets, and people know further price hikes are coming.
“Consumer confidence is deteriorating sharply, with fuel prices and threats of more energy price increases acting as constant reminders of inflation.
“While the Gulf crisis is intensifying pressures, much of the current strain reflects earlier domestic cost increases.
“How long can all this disruption and pain continue?”
People walk past a Nike store in New York City, on April 2, 2025.
Kylie Cooper | Reuters
Nike announced a new round of layoffs Thursday affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department.
In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the company said the layoffs were part of Nike’s broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy aiming to reshape its technology team, modernize its Air manufacturing, move some of its Converse Footwear operations and integrate its materials supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply chain teams.
“Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology,” Alagirisamy wrote. “These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.”
A Nike spokesperson said the layoffs are about better positioning the organization for the current pace of sports and accelerating its growth. The layoffs affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company’s total global head count.
“This is not a new direction,” Alagirisamy wrote. “It is the next phase of the work already underway.”
Affected employees will be notified beginning Thursday, Nike added.
CEO Elliott Hill has been working to turn Nike around after years of slumping sales. While Hill has made some initial progress, it’s come with some bumps in the road.
Nike announced 775 job cuts in January, primarily at its U.S.-based distribution centers, due to the company’s work in accelerating its use of automation. At the time, the company said the cuts are part of Nike’s goal to return to “long-term, profitable growth.”
Those layoffs came on top of a round of cuts last summer that affected less than 1% of Nike’s corporate staff as part of the company’s efforts to realign the business.
In its third fiscal quarter earnings report last month, the retailer warned that sales will continue to fall for the rest of the year, primarily led by an anticipated 20% decline in China during the current quarter.
— CNBC’s Jessica Golden contributed to this report.
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