Warning knocks stuffing out of Pace

SHARES in Pace Micro crashed 21p to 79p on a shock warning just as the stock market closed. They are likely to fall further today. The maker of set-top boxes for pay-TV predicts a second-half loss and must cut costs to cope. It employs 950.

The crisis at pay-TV companies ITV Digital and NTL is turning away customers. Pace sells few decoders for ITV Digital, whose highly public disaster has hammered the launch of its own, unrelated product. It is selling a £100 off-the-shelf decoder that gives access to free digital channels such as BBC News 24.

Pace has halved to 50,000 the number it aims to sell by the May year-end. It may also write off up to £40m in goodwill from acquisitions. Chief executive Malcolm Miller said: 'We tried to get the news out earlier, but getting the exact wording correct is always difficult.'