Shares in Eidos, the computer games publisher behind the Tomb Raider series, plunged by almost a third yesterday after the company warned of weak sales among some of its newer titles.

Delays in release dates during the pre-Christmas period and the poor reception given to a number of games would cause full-year profits to be "significantly below" last year the company said. Eidos shares, which reached a high of £66 at the end of last year continued their recent collapse, falling a further £12.17 to £27.08.

"We made the wrong call on a number of titles," admitted Eidos chief executive Charles Cornwall.

The business shipped 5.9m units in the three months to the end of December against 6.2m in 1998 and some of the biggest disappointments, including F1 World Grand Prix will be discontinued.

The warning will raise fears that Eidos continues to be too dependent on the success of its Tomb Raider franchise featuring action hero Lara Croft. The company said that following the disappointment of its other titles, Tomb Raider would account for 40% of revenues this year.

"It would be great if we had half a dozen Tomb Raider lookalikes but we still believe we have a fantastic line up of games," Mr Cornwall said.