(new: comments, course of the year)

FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Capped targets for Compugroup's sales and operating profit for the year sent the shares of the software company for the healthcare industry into a steep decline on Tuesday.

The shares fell by around a third to 16.20 euros by the close of trading at the end of the SDax. Over the course of the year, the share price has now fallen by just over 57%, making it the worst-performing stock in the 70-stock mid-cap index to date, ahead of inverter manufacturer SMA Solar.

The preliminary quarterly figures are a disappointment, wrote analyst Fabian Piasta from the investment house Jefferies in a quick assessment. Although it is still quite early in the current year, Compugroup management has revised its forecasts downwards, he pointed out. Piasta pointed to weakening demand, sluggish project realizations and increased costs for investments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the overall platform.

Compugroup had surprisingly presented key figures for the second quarter of the year in the afternoon and announced that revenue development under its own steam in 2024 is now likely to reach the previous year's level at best. Previously, growth of between 4 and 6 percent had been forecast. The adjusted operating result (EBITDA) in 2024 is also only expected to be between 220 and 250 million euros, compared to 270 to 310 million euros previously.

Investor confidence is likely to dwindle further with this bad news, said one market observer. He recalled that the software provider, which specializes in medical practices, hospitals and pharmacies, had already shocked investors with disappointing quarterly figures in February of this year. At the time, this had pushed the share price, which had recovered to almost EUR 41 by the beginning of February, below EUR 33. Since then, the share price has continued to fall, albeit in small steps./ck/la/he

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