RSM Tenon shares plunge 32%

Shares in accountancy firm RSM Tenon have fallen sharply this morning after its warned "erratic markets" were hitting the company hard.

Chief executive Andy Raynor told RSM's annual general meeting that all of the firm's service lines had suffered a fall in year-on-year trading performance, particularly in transaction-based activities.

The company's shares fell 32% in morning trading following the announcement.

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"In past periods we have consistently reported net cash outflows in the first half of the year," he said.

"The trading patterns noted above have exacerbated this effect in the current financial year."

Raynor said the company was meeting its obligations to its lenders but headroom would "continue to be limited as we progress towards the final quarter of the year, which is the most cash generative of our annual cash-flow cycle".

He said that recent contract wins confirmed the company' view that an increased percentage of revenues would be weighted to the second half of the year.

The next scheduled update on RSM's financial performance will be its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2011, which are due to be published on 21 February 2012.