Yorkshire's listed companies buck national trend as profit warnings halve

The region also saw its lowest Q3 profit warnings total since 2021, as Yorkshire’s business community continued to show resilience following a strong first half of 2024, in which warnings fell by more than a third (35 per cent) year-on-year.

In contrast to the Yorkshire figures, a total of 84 profit warnings were issued across the UK in Q3, representing an 11 per cent year-on-year rise and the highest quarterly total in two years.

Nationally, the proportion of UK-listed companies that have issued a warning over the last year now stands at 19.2 per cent – the highest rolling 12-month percentage since the pandemic and, before that, since 2001.

Leading factors behind Q3’s UK profit warnings included contract and order cancellations or delays, cited in 38 per cent of warnings, the highest percentage for this reason in 15 years. Falling sales also triggered a third of the quarter’s warnings.

Tim Vance, EY-Parthenon UK&I Turnaround and Restructuring Partner in Yorkshire, said: “After an encouraging first half of 2024, listed companies in Yorkshire continued to display impressive resilience in the third quarter, with profit warnings down substantially year-on-year.

"This is positive news for the region, particularly as warnings increased both yearly and quarterly nationwide, demonstrating that Yorkshire-based businesses are managing well in a tough economy.

“However, with listed companies operating in the FTSE Industrials super-sector issuing the most warnings both in Yorkshire and further afield in Q3, businesses in this space should continue to place a strong focus and emphasis upon stress testing and scenario planning.

"On a broader scale, business sentiment has been mixed following the Autumn Budget announcement, with labour costs expected to rise. Resilience should therefore continue to be a top priority for businesses across Yorkshire, with potential further challenges ahead.”

Jo Robinson, EY-Parthenon Partner and UK&I Turnaround and Restructuring Strategy Leader, added: “Uncertainty has been a persistent feature of the business environment for several years now but, unusually, this latest surge in warnings wasn’t preceded by a sudden economic downturn or one-off event. This uncertainty seemed to intensify over the summer as companies awaited the new Chancellor’s Autumn Budget and were also affected by ongoing heightened geopolitical tensions. The latest profit warning data gave us a real-time indicator of this shift in business sentiment and the impact this can have on company earnings.”