By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Tesco PLC shares were punished Monday in
London, losing nearly 9% of their value after the supermarket chain
issued a profit warning because of an accounting error.
Tesco shares dropped 8.6%, the worst performers on the FTSE 100
index, as the company slashed its profit outlook for the year to
between 2.4 billion pounds ($3.92 billion) and GBP2.5 billion. The
move came after the U.K.'s largest retailer said it overstated its
most recent profit forecast by GBP250 million.
"We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded
accordingly," said Tesco Chief Executive Dave Lewis, adding the
company will launch an independent investigation.
Other food retailers were driven lower as well, with rival Wm
Morrison Supermarkets down 1.7%, J Sainsbury off by 1.2%. Marks
& Spencer slipped 0.1%.
The FTSE 100 benchmark fell 0.6% to 6,799.56 to 6,800.18. Last
week, the index rose 0.5%.
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