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Cap Gemini stock dives
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September 30, 1999: 8:13 a.m. ET
Shares of Europe's largestTech consultant suspended; profit warning denied
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Shares of Cap Gemini were suspended Thursday as Europe's largest technology consultant warned investors that its 1999 sales outlook remains sluggish.
The stock has come under heavy selling pressure in recent sessions and fell further after the company told analysts its full-year sales forecasts overstated its own internal outlook.
Cap Gemini (PCAP) denied the statement constituted a profit warning, but the news sent its shares tumbling to hit its 151.80 euro trading limit. Shares resumed trading at 153 euros, a drop of 11.1 percent from Wednesday's close.
Cap Gemini said it is forecasting sales of around 4.5 billion euros ($4.24 billion) in 1999 compared with 3.95 billion last year. It cited some analyst forecasts of sales between 4.7 and 4.8 billion euros as the reason for the announcement.
J.P. Morgan cut its full-year earnings forecast by 6 percent following the announcement, citing a slowdown in U.S. market growth and a weak performance in the Gemini Consulting business.
Analysts said shares of software and management consultants such as Cap Gemini, Germany's SAP (FSAP) and Britain's Sema Group (SEM) have been volatile in recent months. Uncertainty over Y2K-based projects and the slowdown in new contracts as the millennium approaches have clouded sales and earnings forecasts. 
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Cap Gemini
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