Shares in Essentra Plc (LON:ESNT) tanked 20% in early deals as it slashed its operating profit estimate for the second time this year, citing subdued growth and a weak Chinese market.
The plastics and fibre group said it now expected adjusted operating profit in the range of £137mln to £142mln for the year to December 31 - revised south from £155mln to £165mln.
It also expects like-for-like revenue to decline in line with the first half of negative 7%.
Essentra said the performance of its pipe protection technologies business remained subdued, despite the extrusion business benefitting from new contract wins.
In filtration, the firm has seen recently-awarded innovative product wins in the second half, but the ramp up of these contracts has been slower than expected.
In addition, the transfer of a particular line of existing business from the US to Asia has been delayed until early 2017.
Along with softness in the Chinese market, this has a consequent impact on both revenue and operating profit, the group said.