Shares in Photo-Me, a British company that operates photo kiosks and ID card booths across Europe and Asia, have fallen by a quarter after it warned on profits because of poor trading in Japan.
Japan has the highest density of photobooths worldwide, according to Photo-Me, with the number having increased significantly since the government rolled out a new ID card programme two years ago.
That new ID system is not compulsory, however. And while photobooth operators had installed large numbers of new machines in preparation for the new ID cards coming in, the system has “not gained the momentum photobooth operators initially anticipated,” Photo-Me said.
The UK group said that it now expected to make £44m of profit before tax for the year to next April, which was “below current market expectations”.
Its shares fell by 25 per cent at the start of trade in London on Wednesday morning to 114p.