29th Jul 2020 12:56
(Alliance News) - FDM Group Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it saw a solid performance during the first half of 2020, as its Mounties were able to work remotely, though profit took a knock however due to high administrative costs.
The IT recruitment, training and consultant deployment provider said its revenue in the six months ended June 30 was up 4.5% to GBP140.5 million from GBP134.4 million year on year.
The company kept revenue flowing through its used continuity plans during lockdown. These included the use of technology that allowed its recruitment processes and training academies to operate remotely.
FDM Group's Mounties, or deployable IT and business consultants, mostly worked remotely as well, continuing their client placements with revenue-generating work.
Despite a reduction in Mountie placements during the middle of the half due to Covid-19, the Mounties benefited from a strong first quarter, ending March 31, partly due to significantly reduced levels of annual leave caused by travel restrictions. This led to Mountie revenue increasing by 5% to GBP139.8 million from GBP132.6 million during the same period in the year prior.
Overall company pretax profit was down 15%, however, to GBP21.2 million from GBP24.9 million a year before.
This was due to administrative expenses rising 14% to GBP45.3 million from GBP39.8 million in the prior year. FDM Group did not comment on the reason for the increase in administrative expenses.
Net finance expenses of the company also increased, albeit minimally, to GBP355,000 in the half, compared to last year's GBP336,000.
The company declared an interim dividend of 18.5 pence per share, up 16% from 16.0p a year before, which it said reflects the current encouraging trading levels and the company's confidence in its long term prospects.
Like many other UK companies, FDM had skipped paying a final dividend for 2019, amid the Covid-19 uncertainty.
Chief Executive Rod Flavell said: "The group has returned a resilient performance in the first half of the year given the challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic and, since its first-quarter update to the market in April, has traded comfortably in line with the board's revised expectations.
"Uncertainties over the impact of Covid-19 remain, but FDM's agile and robust business model has allowed us to respond rapidly and effectively to changes in market conditions during the first half, and will allow us to take advantage of opportunities as conditions normalise."
FDM shares were flat at 940.00 pence each on Wednesday in London.
By Greg Roxburgh; [email protected]
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