B&M shares plummet after accounting error

B&M shares fell to a record low at one stage yesterday

- SIMON HUNT

B&M shares fell sharply yesterday following an accounting mistake that resulted in the company overstating its profits.

The FTSE 250 discount chain revealed it had failed to account for up to £7m in international freight costs, which vanished from its projections “following an operating system update”.

Consequently, B&M has reduced its pretax earnings guidance for the year to £470m-£520m, down from its earlier projection of £510m-£560m.

The group plans to launch a comprehensive “third-party review” into the incident.