THG PLC (LSE:THG), better known as The Hut, cautioned it faces a challenging period in the early part of 2022 due to higher commodity prices and as the boost from lockdown eases.
The embattled online retail platform group said it expects growth over the whole of 2022 to slow to between 22-25%, though momentum going into the year has been strong.
Profits will also be affected by a reduction in margins to be between 7.4% to 7.7% compared to market expectations of 7.9% due to adverse currency movements.
THG shares have endured a tough few months after confusion at an October presentation about its Ingenuity e-commerce arm sparked a wave of selling.
Last week founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding claimed the company had been the victim of a coordinated attack by hedge funds and had sent data to UK regulator the FCA to support his assertion.
After listing in the UK in September 2020 at 500p, the shares now languish at 170p after shedding a further 8% in early deals today.
Before October the shares were changing hands at more than 680p.
THG today reported sales for 2021 of £2.2bn, up 35% year-on-year and by 91% over two years.
The final quarter of the year saw sales of £712mln or up 27% on the previous year.
Moulding said it had been a year of significant growth across all divisions with at peak periods the company dispatching one million units a day.
The group will launch its first Autostore warehouse in the US in the coming year, he added.
“The new year has started well, and we remain confident in delivering our strategic growth plans during 2022 and beyond," Moulding concluded.