Colt is a bit pony

NEWS Colt Telecom saw its shares fall 20 per cent yesterday following a profit warning and poor third quarter results. Despite reporting a ninth consecutive quarter of growth, Colt missed profit targets by £1m and saw analysts cut predictions for future growth for the company. Colt saw profit of £6.4m before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, but analysts believe this is no basis for the company to go on and meet targets for 2002 of £100m - raising concerns that Colt may fail to hit long-term profitability before its funds dry up. According to The Times Colt claims to be fully funded through to profitability, but analysts predict a 'funding gap' of as much as £350m.