UK-listed firms issue 65 profit warnings in three months as Iran war raises costs

UK-listed companies issued 65 profit warnings in the three months to the end of September, the highest level in two years, according to a consultancy cited by The Guardian. The surge in warnings was attributed to rising costs driven by the Iran war.

The figure marks a sharp deterioration in corporate confidence among companies quoted on the London stock market, with the consultancy's count covering the third quarter of the year. The warnings reflect mounting pressure on margins as input costs climb amid the geopolitical conflict.

The elevated level of profit warnings is the highest recorded in two years, underscoring how the Iran war is feeding through into UK corporate earnings. Companies across the London market have been forced to flag weaker-than-expected results as cost inflation bites.

For investors, the data points to broad-based earnings risk in UK equities rather than trouble confined to a single sector. The concentration of warnings in a single quarter suggests the cost shock is being felt widely across listed companies, and that guidance issued earlier in the year may prove difficult to meet.

The consultancy's tally provides one of the clearest signals yet of the corporate toll from the conflict, with the three-month period to end-September now standing as the weakest for UK-listed company profitability signals in two years.