McColl’s Retail cautioned against profits on Wednesday, blaming labor and supply shortages and plummeting the convenience retailer’s shares.

The company said external factors, including the nation’s shortage of delivery drivers, labor shortages at distribution centers and insufficient supply of key products, intensified in the fourth quarter.

“As we continue to work with our wholesale partner, Morrisons, to mitigate the effect of the disruption, we have not been able to fully mitigate the impact on stores, resulting in revenues significantly below those initially planned, “he said.

As a result, FY21 adjusted profit before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before IFRS 16 is now expected to be between £ 20 million and £ 22 million. This is down from £ 29million a year earlier.

Managing Director Jonathan Miller said: “It is disappointing to see the supply chain issues worsen in the second half of the year, but the external factors have not abated and continue to impact much. of the British economy. We are working with our wholesale partner Morrisons to restore in-stock product availability as quickly as possible.

“Despite these supply chain issues, I am delighted with the dramatic change we are seeing in store performance with our Morrisons Daily conversions. This new format shows strong sales growth and offers a better return on investment than expected. Our conversion program is evolving. on pace, ahead and on budget, and we plan to reach 350 Morrisons Daily stores well ahead of our original target. “

At 08:50 GMT, stocks were down 25% to 13.50p.