(Reuters) - British crematorium operator Dignity warned on 2018 profit as a bruising price battle prompted it to cut simple funeral prices by about a quarter to protect market share.
The company said customers were becoming "increasingly price-conscious" in an over-supplied industry, adding it would also freeze prices for traditional funerals in a majority of its locations.
The price cut comes as Britons tighten their belts amid rising inflation and stagnant wage growth.
The company said initial reported deaths for 2017 were 590,000 in the UK and the group conducted 68,800 funerals.
Dignity, which has close to 800 funeral locations and operates 44 crematoria in the UK, said it was in talks with the government to regulate the funeral industry and ensure customers are not "misled into accepting below-par service and standards".