As revenue for the year was down “slightly” on the year, pre-tax profit fell short of expectations

Actions in the legal and professional services team Since fell early Monday after the group revealed that full-year revenue was down “slightly” year-over-year after “a difficult final quarter”.

Ince now expects revenue for the year to March 31 to be around £97.0 million, while pre-tax profits are also expected to come in below market expectations.

The AIM-listed group said negative impacts on its performance ranged from the resurgence of Covid-19 in the UK from late November, lockdowns in Hong Kong and China, conflict in Ukraine and a cyberattack halfway through computer system migrations. in mid-March.

Ince also noted that since announcing its offer to acquire business adviser and stockbroker Arden on Oct. 26, it was bound by “strict regulatory requirements” in terms of communicating with shareholders. However, with the acquisition finally finalized on April 28, the company said it had begun to capitalize on identified synergies and cross-selling opportunities.

Ince added that it now considers it “unlikely” that its final audited results will be released before September.

Chief Executive Adrian Biles said: “The last quarter of the 2021/22 financial year presented a number of challenges. The board of directors intended to complete the acquisition of Arden before the end of January 2022, but due to regulatory issues this has been delayed until after the March 2022 balance sheet date.

“The UK Covid-19 lockdown in December 2021 and January 2022 also had a negative effect on financial performance, as did similar issues in Asia, and on top of that the group was extremely unhappy to having been the victim of a cyberattack in March.”

As of 09:00 BST, Ince shares had fallen 18.68% to 19.11p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert on Sharecast.com