Vesuvius Plc (LSE:VSVS) shares fell 8.6% to 413p after the molten-metal engineering group warned that operational problems and difficult European trading had caused a greater-than-expected hit to its performance.
The company said trading profit for the first half of 2026 was expected to be about £74 million.
Operational issues in its Steel division have continued since its previous update in May, while the Advanced Refractories business has faced a "challenging trading environment", particularly in Europe.
Vesuvius said the operational problems were temporary and were being addressed, but acknowledged that their financial impact had been greater than previously anticipated. The company expects the issues to be resolved by the end of the year.
As a result, full-year trading profit is now expected to be only slightly ahead of the £151.1 million reported for the 2025 financial year on a constant-currency basis.
Last year’s trading profit would have been £147 million if translated using a combination of average exchange rates from the first half of 2026 and exchange rates at the end of June.
Vesuvius, which supplies technology used to control the flow of molten metal in steelmaking and foundries, said it will publish its full half-year results on Thursday.
