Profits 'blip' shakes investors

FOR Angus Monro, boss of the company behind discount retailer Poundstretcher, it was a 'crap Christmas' - and he was not alone.

Although company profit warnings hit an all-time low last year, the outlook is uncertain after a sharp rise in the last quarter, according to accountants Ernst & Young.

The reversal is being blamed on the recent rise in interest rates and a poor Christmas for some retailers, notably WH Smith and Poundstretcher's owner Brown & Jackson.

But Andrew Wollaston, corporate restructuring partner at Ernst & Young, said the overall figures suggested that the downward trend of the previous two quarters was being maintained.

He added: 'The question is whether December was a blip or the start of a rising trend.'

Quoted companies issued 210 alerts during 2003, a 40% fall on the previous year.

But the final quarter produced warnings from 52 companies, a 37% rise on the third quarter.