The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was out of form last week. Concerns over rising inflation in the United States spooked investors and led to the index dropping 66.6 points or 0.9% to end at 7,014.2 points.
While a good number of shares tumbled lower with the market, some fell more than most. Here's why these were the worst performing ASX 200 shares last week:
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Perenti Global Ltd (ASX: PRN)
The Perenti Global share price was the worst performer on the ASX 200 last week with a 28.6% decline. Investors were selling the mining services company's shares following the release of an operational update. Perenti revealed that it will no longer be delivering on its guidance for second half revenue and margins in line with what it reported in the first half. Instead, due largely to COVID-19 headwinds and Australian labour market shortages, it is expecting softer earnings in the second half. It also warned that these headwinds will persist for the next 12 to 18 months.
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)
The A2 Milk share price was well and truly out of form and sank 21.2% lower last week. The catalyst for this was the infant formula company downgrading its FY 2021 guidance for the fourth time. The company now expects revenue of NZ$1.2 billion to NZ$1.25 billion with EBITDA of NZ$132 million to NZ$150 million. This will mean a year on year reduction in EBITDA of 73% to 76% year on year. Sustained weakness in the daigou channel and a massive NZ$103 million to NZ$113 million inventory provision were behind the underperformance.
Xero Limited (ASX: XRO)
The Xero share price wasn't far behind with a disappointing 15.9% decline. The cloud-based business and accounting platform provider's shares were sold off following the release of its full year results. Although Xero delivered strong growth on both the top and bottom lines, it was still short of the market's expectations. This was particularly the case for its EBITDA, which was 16% below the market consensus estimate. In addition to this, higher than expected operating expense guidance for FY 2022 also weighed on sentiment.
PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)
The PointsBet share price was a poor performer and dropped 13% over the five days. This appears to have been driven largely by weakness in the tech sector following a strong inflation reading in the United States. It wasn't just PointsBet that was sinking. The S&P/ASX All Technology Index (ASX: XTX) tumbled 5.7% lower over the five days.
