31st Jan 2024 10:26
(Alliance News) - FDM Group Holdings PLC on Wednesday said tricky market conditions across the bulk of 2023 kept a lid on its progress, though it believes it is "well-placed" to benefit when economic conditions pick-up again.
The IT-focused professional services provider expects results for the year ended December 31 to be in line with expectations, with revenue growing around 1.2% to GBP334 million from GBP330 million in 2022.
FDM hailed its "resilient performance" over the year, despite "very challenging" market conditions which emerged at the start of the second quarter and persisted as the year wore on.
Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty "dampened client demand".
Chief Executive Officer Rod Flavell said: "The last nine months of 2023 saw difficult trading conditions across our markets, with many clients delaying and deferring decisions around projects and consultant placements given the macro-economic and geo-political uncertainties they faced. Our agile business model allowed us to take the action required to align our business activity and resources appropriately, a programme which continues into the current year.
"Levels of client engagement remain encouraging and the early signs of returning client confidence which we reported in November continue. Our on-going investment programmes to support future growth, appropriate levels of trained consultant resource and access to an excellent pipeline of already assessed candidates ensure that we are well placed to meet clients' needs as and when market conditions improve."
FDM finished the year with 3,892 consultants placed with clients, down 21% from 4,905 at the end of 2022. It UK division closed with 1,411 consultants deployed, down from 1,958. The US division dropped to 1,322 from 1,618. Consultants in the Asia Pacific region fell to 832 from 1,011, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa finished with 327, up slightly from 318 a year prior.
FDM delivered 1,338 training completions during the year, more than halved from 3,179 in 2022, which the company attributed to the tepid level of client demand.
Shore Capital Markets analyst Gareth Evans believes the results were "better than expected".
"We remain positive about the story and believe that FDM is well-positioned to benefit from an macroeconomic upturn – the new online and remote model could herald margin upside over time," Evans said.
FDM shares traded 1.6% lower at 444.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
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