By Adria Calatayud
3i Group shares plunged after the U.K. private-equity company reported a slowdown in sales growth and weaker profitability at retailer Action, which accounts for the bulk of the group's portfolio value.
Shares in 3i Group tumbled as much as 25% in European morning trading Thursday, which would be their worst one-day percentage fall ever if maintained until close. The drop added to recent losses for a stock that more than halved its value over the past year.
The company said discount retailer Action's like-for-like sales growth slowed to 2.4% in the year to date, driven by a deterioration in consumer sentiment in some of its markets due to the situation in the Middle East and unfavorable weather. This compared with like-for-like growth of 6.8% that Action reported over the same period last year and of 4.9% for 2025 as a whole, 3i Group said.
3i Group also said Action's operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin stood at 12.4% in the first quarter of 2026, lower than its 2025 margin of 14.8%.
The update points to weaker-than-expected trends for sales growth and profitability at Action, and left much to do for the second half to meet its annual guidance, RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note to clients.
3i Group said it valued its 65.4% stake in Action at 23.74 billion pounds ($32.12 billion) as of March 31, out of a total portfolio value of 31.82 billion pounds.
The company said it would launch a share buyback of up to 750 million pounds after ending its fiscal 2026 year with a net asset value of 30.30 pounds a share. Analysts had expected a NAV a share of 30.41 pounds, according to consensus estimates provided by the company.
Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-14-26 0438ET
