Is Tadpole about to croak?

Toad in a hole...

Shares in UK mobile infrastructure firm Tadpole have been slashed by almost a third on news it will again fail to meet earnings targets and could run out of cash. The company, which sells software and hardware for networks said it was hit by the rapid downturn in the telecoms and service provider industries and now expects to make a loss of £7m for the year to September. Analysts had previously announced expectations for the firm to lose just £4.8m this year. This increased burn rate puts the company on course to run out of money by Easter next year unless it manages to turn things around. As of the end of August, the company had £4m in cash reserves. Shares in the company fell as much as 34 per cent on the news. By 12:30(BST) today shares were 31 per cent down at 10.5p. However, in a statement issued to the London stock exchange this morning the Directors said they remained confident the company's new focus on software sales would turn the firm around.