Hyve Group PLC (LON:HYVE) warned that the impact of coronavirus has wreaked havoc on its events schedule and mean a profit hit of up to £18mln.
Four events in China due for March have been postponed until later in the year, while Shoptalk and Groceryshop in the US have been delayed until September and March 2021 respectively.
Even though there not been a major outbreak of the virus in the US, global travel restrictions are affecting the ability of speakers and attendees to get to the events.
Hyve said current estimates are for a one-time revenue knock of between £17m and £19m and between £16m and £18m on profit.
The FTSE 250 group that the situation remains fluid and those numbers will change if things either improve or get worse.
The group added it has already booked £200m of revenue for the current financial year with material headroom available on its debt facility and expects to operate within the covenants.
Broker Peel Hunt added while it was expecting to reduce its numbers, the scale of the hit announced today was worse than expected.
" Importantly, Hyve confirmed it has material headroom on the debt facility and expects to operate within covenants."
Forecast for earnings in 2020 have been reduced by 29% to £44.1mln, though the numbers for 2021 have not been changed on the assumption the virus is controlled within the next few months.
Shares fell 3% to 68.4p.
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