Shares in Altitude Group PLC (AIM:ALT) fell 18.3% to 19.13p after the company issued a profit warning due to slower-than-expected performance in its AIM Smarter digital platform for managing branded merchandise procurement, continued cautious corporate spending in the US branded merchandise market and upfront costs associated with expanding University Gear Shop (UGS).
A rejigged senior leadership team has undertaken a review of the portfolios of both the ACS (affiliate customer sales programme for independent branded merchandise distributors in US) and UGS (where Altitude has contracts with US colleges and universities to manage branded merchandise retail operations) given their rapid growth in the last few years.
"The review identified a requirement for the group to realign current-year expectations, together with hurdle criteria and pricing for future contracts," the company said in a statement.
"In addition, growth assumptions for AIM revenue in the current year have been revised against confirmed member purchase activity for quarters ending June and September, which is softer than forecast expectations, reflecting ongoing subdued demand and cautious corporate spending across the US branded merchandise market"
The group now expects full-year revenue to be not less than $43 million and adjusted EBITDA $3.7 million, lower than previous guidance.
For the six months to 30 September 2025, revenue rose 17.5% year-on-year to $21.6 million, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 6% to $1.7 million.
The group announced the appointment of Martin Varley as chief strategy officer, effective 1 October, as part of wider governance changes. A new independent non-executive director is expected to be appointed shortly.