Burberry shares tumble after profit guidance cut

London

SHARES in British luxury goods maker Burberry tumbled on Wednesday after it cut its annual profit guidance, hit by foreign exchange volatility and subdued demand in Hong Kong and the US.

The 159-year-old firm said that 2015/16 profit for retail and wholesale - which makes up the vast majority of its business - would be £40 million (S$83.7 million) lower than expected. It came after Burberry reported a rise in group profit for the year to the end of March - but adverse currency movements due to a strong pound took a big bite out of the earnings, which were also pressured by a fall in spending from Chinese customers in Hong Kong.