LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - B&M European Value Retail's finance chief has stepped down, the chain said on Monday, after it discovered £7m of costs had not been correctly recognised, hitting profits.
In a brief update, the bargain chain said the overseas freight costs had not been recognised in costs of goods sold, following an operating system update earlier this year.

The underlying issue has since been resolved, it confirmed, but not before hitting profits.

As a result, it has been forced to cut forecasts for the second time this month.

Full-year earnings are now expected to come in between £470m and £520m, based on revised second-quarter margin run rates. It had previously predicted adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of between £510m and £560m for the 2026 full year.

Interim adjusted EBITDA, meanwhile, is now slated to come in around £191m, compared to previous guidance of £198m.

Shares in the FTSE 250 group plunged earlier this month after it revealed earnings had been hit by sliding UK sales and soaring costs, prompting it to slash guidance for both the full and half year.

As at 0930 BST on Monday, the shares had tumbled 17% at 179.8p. The stock has now lost 50% in the year to date.

B&M, which has more than 1,100 UK stores, also confirmed that chief financial officer Mike Schmidt has resigned.

"A search for his successor has commenced and Mike Schmidt will remain with the company until a replacement is in place to ensure an orderly transition," it said.

"The board wishes Mike well for the future."

Schmidt jointed B&M in 2022 from DFS, where he was group financial officer. He was briefly interim chief executive earlier this year, following the retirement of Alex Russo. Veteran retailer Tjeerd Jegen took on the role on a permanent basis in June.

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "Failing to recognise £7m of freight costs is a major mistake, and suggests that the business has poor financial controls. It's inevitable that investors will now start to question if other accounting mistakes have been made.

"The fact a £7m cost issue has led to a £40m downgrade would suggest B&M's margins are skinnier than some might have thought.

"It's only natural to wonder if the business has well and truly gone off the boil. A big share price slump implies that some investors no longer want to hang around to find out."

Shore Capital, which has put its 'buy' rating under review, called the update "very disappointing".

It said: "While such system issues do happen, the concerns for us that it suggests that the company is less on top of its costs numbers that we would expect, and that the business is running a lower gross margin than we thought, suggesting a tougher route back to the double-digit EBITDA margins the company is targeting."

Peel Hunt confirmed it had also put its 'add' recommendation and target price under review, noting: "This does not imply that the second half has started well."

B&M's half-year numbers are due out on 13 November.

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