The Iress Ltd (ASX: IRE) share price is plummeting this morning after the company announced a profit downgrade.
At the time of writing, the financial software company's shares are down a mammoth 15.21% to $8.92, having earlier been as low as $8.43.
This makes it by far the worst performer on the ASX, with Bell Financial Group Ltd (ASX: BFG) shares coming in second place at a 6.54% drop.
Let's take a look and see what Iress provided in today's market release.
Iress suffers setback amid 'challenging macro conditions'
Investors are heading for the hills, sending the Iress share price lower following the company's dismal outlook.
According to its release, Iress is experiencing some timing delays in the conversion of new sales opportunities due to challenging market conditions.
While it didn't say exactly what those factors were, Iress said the setback is "expected to impact FY 2022 guidance".
Furthermore, unfavourable currency exchange movements and US dollar pricing have led to higher than anticipated supplier costs.
Consequently, Iress is projecting full-year segment profit for 2022 to be in the range of $166 million and $170 million on a constant currency basis.
This compares to the company's previous guidance in August, in which it forecasted segment profit to be at the bottom of the range of $177 million and $183 million.
As a result, net profit after tax (NPAT) is estimated to be between $54 million and $58 million, down from $63 million to $72 million.
Iress CEO Andrew Walsh commented on the company's performance, saying:
Profit expectations for the second-half of this year have been impacted primarily by delays in the timing of new client opportunities. In addition, some costs are higher than we previously expected, including US dollar priced technology and software. While external macro conditions are volatile, we are making good progress in executing on our long-term strategies to build a more profitable and efficient Iress.
Iress share price summary
Adding in today's losses, the Iress share price has fallen 32% in 2022.
When looking at the last 12 months, its shares are down 23%.
Based on today's price, Iress presides a market capitalisation of approximately $1.96 billion.
