The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form in September and recorded a sizeable decline. The benchmark index lost 4% of its value over the period to end it at 5,815.9 points.
While a large number of shares dropped lower during the month, a few stood out with particularly sharp declines.
The four worst performers on the ASX 200 in September are listed below:
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Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)
The Zip share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last month with a 32.6% decline. Investors were selling the buy now pay later provider's shares amid concerns over increasing competition in the US market. There are fears that PayPal's launch of a buy now pay later product could damage Zip's US ambitions. This is because Zip's QuadPay business isn't in as strong a position as some of its larger rivals to fend off PayPal in the lucrative market.
IOOF Holdings Limited (ASX: IFL)
The IOOF share price wasn't far behind with a sizeable 27.8% decline in September. Investors were selling the financial services company's shares after the completion of the institutional component of its $1,040 million capital raising. IOOF raised a total of $734 million from institutional investors at a massive 24.4% discount of $3.50. The company launched the capital raising to fund the acquisition of the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) wealth business, MLC Wealth for $1,440 million.
Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (ASX: URW)
The Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield share price was out of form again last month and sank 26.9% lower. This stretched the shopping centre operator's year to date decline to a massive 78.4%. September's decline appears to have been driven by rising COVID-19 cases in the UK and Europe. Potential lockdowns and social distancing initiatives could lead to a significant reduction in shopping centre traffic.
Virgin Money UK (ASX: VUK)
The Virgin Money UK share price continued its slide and tumbled 25.2% lower in September. This also appears to be related to increasing COVID-19 cases in the UK. With cases getting out of control, the government has warned that lockdowns could be coming again. Health officials have warned that there could be upwards of 50,000 new cases per day in October if things aren't brought under control.
