A "misallocation" of approximately 1m of costs relating to the integration of the Access Plus business and the implementation of a group-wide financial reporting system means that the group expects restated EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and goodwill amortisation) to be 3.5m, not the 4.5m reported.

Furthermore given that current year budgets were based on inaccurate base data and that summer trading in its data division has been "particularly difficult", it has revised down its expectations for the current year. EBITA in the year ending 31 December 2005 is expected to be about 50% of the restated 2004 figure. Shares dropped to 5.75p from 7p on the back of the news.

The error came to light following a detailed review of the group's financial systems, procedures and budgets by new chief financial officer Richard Hodgson, who was appointed in July.

Chief executive Jason Cromack (pictured) said that despite the disappointment of the announcement the group was still performing against its operational benchmarks and was in its "highest level of pitching ever".

"Unfortunately things went wrong on that financial integration but at the end of the day contract revenues are up versus last year. Our revenues are far more stable now," he said. "We have got to put this into perspective, we are still generating profit."

Cromack added that he expected the slow trading in data to pick up during October and November. "It has been a really slow summer but I think that's a general thing around the industry," he said.