Wincanton shares dive 35% after major contract loss prompts profit warning

(Reuters) -Wincanton's shares plunged as much as 35% on Tuesday as the logistics company warned of materially lower profit in 2024 after it lost a major British government contract.

At 0912 GMT, the shares dropped by 35% to 198.2 pence, touching their lowest since October 2020.

The company said the HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) had decided to move to another supplier by June 2023.

The contract was to provide logistics services to support UK customs to operate and establish inland depots and storage locations for imported goods for sea, air, road and rail freight.

The HMRC and Border Force undertake targeted pre-clearance checks to prevent mis-declared goods from coming into the country.

The five-year contract, first awarded to Wincanton in 2019, had an estimated value of 71 million pounds ($85.43 million).

Wincanton said its 2024 profit will be "materially" lower than a company-compiled analyst consensus of 63 million pounds.

($1 = 0.8311 pounds)

(Reporting by Sinchita Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)