Robert Wiseman warns on profit, shares fall

LONDON (Reuters) - Scottish dairy group Robert Wiseman (RWD.L: Quote, Profile, Research) on Monday warned profit would be hit by a combination of rising energy and wage costs and a delay in increasing selling prices, sending its shares lower.

Robert Wiseman said the costs and delays could hit operating profit by as much as 8.5 million pounds ($16.6 million) this financial year. The company posted a 10.1 percent rise in adjusted operating profit to 38.4 million pounds in the previous year ended March 29, 2008.

At 1043 GMT, Robert Wiseman shares were down 14.1 percent to 427 pence.

"It's a bit of a surprise this morning. I think they are being very prudent in trying to assume a worst case scenario for the rest of the year, which may well not prove to be the case," said an analyst who declined to be identified.

The group said a delay in implementing higher selling prices would hit operating profit by 3 million pounds in the first quarter. "We are operating in a very tough market at the moment, and in a tough market it takes a while to negotiate a settlement from your customer base," a Robert Wiseman spokesman said.

The company said further cost increases could hit yearly operating profit by up to 2 million and it saw a shortfall in bulk cream sales reducing profit by 3.5 million at current cream price levels.

(Reporting by Johannes Hellstrom; Editing by Erica Billingham)