Ricardo warns of hit to full-year profit from Coronavirus

(Reuters) - Engineering and automotive consultancy Ricardo Plc <RCDO.L> on Tuesday warned full-year profit would be hit because of the Coronavirus' disruptive impact on its China auto and rail operations.

The company said client engagement, project delivery and business development had already disrupted operations in the fiscal second-half of 2019, which it expects to continue in the coming months in mainland China and surrounding countries.

"As we start the second half of the year, we have seen increased headwinds in the automotive sector which we anticipate will lead to suppressed order intake in our U.S., EMEA and China Automotive businesses," Ricardo said in a statement.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)