24th Jul 2014 11:33
LONDON (Alliance News) - Sagentia Group PLC said Thursday that its performance in the first-half to end-June has been "satisfactory" in a "very challenging currency environment" as it saw pretax profit and revenue decline.
As a result, it expects to see revenue growth in the second-half relative to the first-half.
The science and technology consulting company posted a pretax profit of GBP1.8 million, down from GBP2.7 million, as revenue declined to GBP13.3 million from GBP14.5 million.
Sagentia expressed concern about the potential further strengthening of sterling. It cited the "increasingly likelihood of interest rate rises" to address economic factors in the UK, which it said will exacerbate the challenges of the strengthening sterling.
The company said its revenue and profit in the first-half of the year took a hit of around GBP500,000 due to the strength of sterling.
Despite this, the company said that it maintains a strong control over its margin and costs, which has partially offset currency market volatility.
The company said that it continues to explore acquisition and investment opportunities consistent with its long term strategy.
Shares in Sagentia were trading down 3.7% at 129.00 pence Thursday morning.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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