BT, the UK telecoms company, saw its stock plunge by 15% as it revealed that improper accounting at its Italian unit would cost the company more than three times as much as originally predicted. A writedown to the business has now risen from £145m in October to £530m. This brings an abrupt end to the years of recovery after the 2008 financial crisis; the company says it will now not see revenue growth for two years and will barely grow profits. Following the twin warnings, BT said it would now not be able to grow revenues for the next two years. The fallout is likely to be felt most keenly among smaller firms with fewer resources or less sophisticated accounting.
BT, the UK telecoms company, saw its stock plunge by 15% as it revealed that improper accounting at its Italian unit would cost the company more than three times as much as originally predicted. A writedown to the business has now risen from £145m in October to £530m. This brings an abrupt end to the years of recovery after the 2008 financial crisis; the company says it will now not see revenue growth for two years and will barely grow profits. The fallout is likely to be felt most keenly among smaller firms with fewer resources or less sophisticated accounting.