Shares slide as Metlen warns on earnings

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Metlen Energy & Metals tumbled on Friday, after the blue chip warned earnings would significantly undershoot guidance. The Greek energy and metals company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange last autumn, said that while its underlying business had performed "robustly", the wider group had been hit by unexpected cost overruns at M Power Projects (MPP).

Metlen had previously warned that the business, a specialist in large-scale turnkey energy projects, had been hit by challenges at its Protos venture in the UK, including cost overruns and schedule delays.

However, on Friday Metlen confirmed that following a year-end review, it had now identified further overruns and delays.

As a result, group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation are now slated to slide by around 25%. Prior to the MPP losses, EBITDA had been in line to meet guidance of around €1bn, Metlen noted.

The firm said additional operational controls had since been put in place to enhance oversight, and that the division had been reorganised into its renewables, storage and energy transition unit.

It also noted that 2026 had "started well, reflecting strong market trends, positive performance of the company's core business and good progress of ongoing initiatives across it growth pillars".

However, that did not prevent the stock falling sharply, and by noon GMT it had slumped 16% to €37.75.

Metlen, which has its primary listing in the City and a secondary one in Athens, was one of the first companies to take advantage of new rules allowing shares not denominated in sterling to be included in the FTSE UK indices.

Metlen, which traces its roots back to 1908, is due to publish numbers for the year to December end on 31 March.