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The discount retailer B&M has ousted its finance chief after reporting a £7m accounts blunder that will cut its annual earnings – its second profit warning within two weeks.

The company told investors it looking for a successor to Mike Schmidt, who is stepping down as chief financial officer, after the accounting error.

The company, which sells things ranging from DIY, electricals and garden products to toys, pet food and everyday essentials, discovered that £7m of overseas freight costs were not “correctly recognised in cost of goods sold,” after an update to its operating system earlier this year.

This means that adjusted profits for the year to March 2026 are now expected to be between £470m and £520m, down from its previous estimate of between £510m and £560m. For the first half, B&M expects profits of £191m, down from £198m.

Shares in the FTSE 250-listed company slumped by nearly 18% in early trading. They have lost nearly 50% of their value this year.

The retailer said Schmidt will remain with the group until a replacement is found. The system issue at the centre of the problem has since been fixed, it said.

B&M will commission an external review, and will provide a further update when it releases first-half results on 13 November.

One of Britain’s biggest discount retailers, it has been struggling and warned on profits earlier in October. It announced a “back to basics” plan under its new chief executive, Tjeerd Jegen, who took the helm in June.

It expects UK sales at stores open for at least a year to either fall, or rise in low single digits, this year.

Jegen said in early October that the company had cut prices and was working to refocus its ranges, improve on-shelf availability and “bring back excitement to our stores”.

B&M also issued a profit warning in February, and in June blamed sliding sales on more cautious consumer spending, particularly among lower-income shoppers who are its main customers.

In a short statement on Monday, B&M said: “The board wishes Mike well for the future.”

B&M, founded in 1978, became one of Britain’s most successful retailers during the pandemic, when it was still run by the Arora brothers, Simon and Bobby. They acquired the business from Phildrew Investments in late 2004 when it was an ailing regional chain of 21 stores, and built it into a retail empire in the UK and France. It listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2014.

The company has 1,270 stores, mostly in the UK under the B&M, Heron Foods and B&M Express brands. The figure also includes 140 B&M shops in France.

Taipei, Oct. 20 (CNA) Shares in Taiwan moved sharply higher by almost 400 points Monday to smash closing records after the bellwether electronics sector staged a rebound from Friday’s slump amid lingering optimism toward artificial intelligence development, dealers said.

After falling 1.25 percent Friday, the Taiex, the weighted index on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), ended up 386.26 points, or 1.41 percent, at 27,688.63 Monday after fluctuating between 27,412.45 and 27,768.27. Turnover totaled NT$485.86 billion (US$15.87 billion).

“Friday’s losses largely came as investors pocketed their recent strong gains by trimming holdings in TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.), although the contract chipmaker raised its sales outlook for 2025,” equity market analyst Andy Hsu said.

“Buying remerged today as optimism toward AI applications continued to prompt investors to pick up bargains,” Hsu said.

Following a 2.15 percent decline Friday, TSMC, the most heavily weighted stock in the local market, rose 2.07 percent to close at NT$1,480.00 Monday, contributing about 240 points to the Taiex’s rise and sending the electronics index higher by 1.91 percent.

TSMC’s buying spread to other semiconductor stocks, with its application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design unit Global Unichip Corp. rising 2.01 percent to end at NT$1,525.00.

In addition, due to rising memory chip prices, Winbond Electronics Inc. gained 5.46 percent to close at NT$46.35 and rival Nanya Technology Corp. added 2.88 percent to end at NT$107.00.

“AI server maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., second to TSMC in terms of market value, also extended momentum from Friday, lending additional support to the Taiex,” Hsu said.

With its target price raised to NT$400 by foreign brokerages citing strong AI server sales, Hon Hai shares rose 5.30 percent to close at NT$238.50.

Buying also rotated to major electronic component suppliers, with Yageo Corp., the world’s third-largest multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) maker, gaining 6.23 percent to end at NT$196.00.

Hsu said while these large-cap tech stocks attracted market attention, old economy stocks largely lagged behind the broader market.

Among them, China Steel Corp., the largest steel maker in Taiwan, fell 0.79 percent to close at NT$18.90, and Tung Ho Steel Corp. shed 2.51 percent to end at NT$62.10.

Formosa Chemicals & Fibre Corp. lost 0.50 percent to close at NT$29.80, and Formosa Plastics Corp. ended down 0.13 percent at NT$38.85.

In the financial sector, which lost 0.09 percent, Fubon Financial Holding Co. lost 0.45 percent to close at NT$89.10, while Cathay Financial Holding Co. ended up 0.15 percent at NT$65.30.

“Judging the market movement, I think the Taiex’s uptrend is expected to continue, led by AI hopes, although investors need to watch possible technical pullbacks,” Hsu said. “Ample liquidity from a rate cut cycle by the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to continue to help the index to move higher.”

According to the TWSE, foreign institutional investors bought/sold a net NT$14.22 billion worth of shares on the main board on Monday.

Insider Brief

• QFX, a UK-based quantum hardware supplier, has launched with a mission to deliver scalable networked quantum technologies for computing, sensing, and secure communications.
• Founded by Dr. Joe Goodwin and researchers from the University of Oxford, the company builds on advances in trapped-ion and neutral-atom architectures, emphasizing modular design for large-scale quantum systems.
• The company raised £2 million in seed funding led by investor Paul Graham and appointed Dr. Timothy Ballance as CEO and Sadie Mansell as COO, both formerly of Infleqtion, to lead its commercial and operational expansion.

PRESS RELEASE — QFX, a UK-based supplier of advanced quantum hardware, announces its mission to deliver networked quantum technologies at the scale required for significant quantum advantage. Applying a modular philosophy to precision quantum engineering, QFX will provide the building blocks to revolutionise trapped ion and neutral atom quantum technologies.

Incorporated as Quantum Fabrix Ltd, trading as QFX, the company builds on world-leading trapped ion quantum computing research at the University of Oxford, including development of the world’s foremost networked quantum computing demonstrator. The company was founded by Associate Professor and ERC Laureate Dr Joe Goodwin and researchers from his group, which is developing the first scalable networked quantum computing architectures, combining individual trapped ions with optical microcavities.

The company recently closed a £2 million seed funding round, led by renowned Silicon Valley investor and Y-Combinator co-founder, Paul Graham. The funding will support QFX’s mission to deliver scalable quantum technologies for computing, sensing, and secure communications-addressing the growing demand for robust quantum infrastructure across industry and academia.

QFX has recently welcomed two seasoned industry leaders to its executive team:

Dr Timothy Ballance, appointed Chief Executive Officer, joins from Infleqtion, where he served as President – UK having led the firm’s UK subsidiary since its inception, building on his academic background in networked trapped ion quantum computing research in Cambridge and Oxford. Timothy has since played a central role in commercialising quantum technologies for national defence, navigation, and computing. Under his leadership, Infleqtion UK grew from a single-person operation to a 50-strong team and delivered pioneering products such as the cold atom sources and the atomic clocks.

Sadie Mansell, appointed Chief Operating Officer at QFX, also joins from Infleqtion, where she served as Director of Operations. Sadie brings extensive experience in scaling quantum ventures, operational strategy, and delivering complex R&D programmes. Her leadership has been instrumental in building high-performing teams and driving operational excellence in fast-growth quantum environments.

Several company Founders will continue to play pivotal roles in the growth of the company:

• Dr Joe Goodwin will direct technical strategy at QFX as Chief Technology Officer, continuing his research into scalable networked quantum computing architectures [1] [2].
• Dr Laurent Stephenson will lead research and development as Chief Scientific Officer, building on his decade of experience at the forefront of trapped ion quantum computing which has resulted in the world’s highest performance networked quantum computing system [3] [4].
• Dr Peter Drmota will lead innovation as Chief Innovation Officer, having established himself as an award-winning innovator with his high-impact work on photonically-networked distributed quantum computers [5][6].

“With strong investor backing and a leadership team rooted in deep technical and commercial expertise,” said Dr Ballance, “I am thrilled to be leading QFX delivering quantum hardware which will enable the next generation of quantum systems.”