Research Now Shares Nosedive After Warning

Research Now has seen its share price plummet by around half in the space of a week, after a profits warning with the identification of further unrecorded costs of £0.6m in the first half of the year.

Shares which traded above 500p earlier in the year were down to around 425p at the weekend and have since tumbled 200 pence, hitting a low of 205p today before recovering to 225p.

In a statement, the panels specialist said it had 'recently identified previously unrecorded costs totalling £0.6m incurred during the first half'. The statement adds: 'These costs arose principally from purchasing access to online panels in countries in which the Company had yet to build its own panels, primarily the USA and in Asia.'

The company announced on 4 May this year that profit before tax for the year to 30 October 2007 would be reduced by £0.5m as a result of events following the murder of Cathy Marlow in its south London office on 13th January, and said that but for this, operating profit would have been on budget for the first half.

At the time the firm said it had 'recovered fully from the disruption' and pointed to significant sales growth in every territory in the half year. However, it now reports that an internal review has 'identified that the system for accounting for these costs had broken down, a problem compounded by personnel changes in Research Now's accounting function and the late submission of invoices and statements from suppliers.' The statement reassures investors that the relevant accounting areas are fully reconciled, and that the function will be strengthened shortly with the appointment of a permanent Chief Financial Officer.

Organic sales for the first half, excluding recently-acquired OpenVenue, were £8.1m, up 130% on the year - group sales including OpenVenue were £9.9m. The firm reports strong sales in May and June and says it expects to meet market expectations for sales for the current financial year, but not for pre-tax profits.

Interim Results will be announced on 6 July 2007. The company's web site is at www.researchnow.co.uk .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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