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(Alliance News) - FDM Group Holdings PLC on Wednesday said that a challenging market backdrop had weakened its annual performance, but the company considers itself prepared to meet client demand once conditions improve.
The IT-focused professional services provider expects results for the year ended December 31 to be in line with expectations, with revenue growing slightly 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 remain in place. Macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty "dampened client demand", but the company said that it continues to adjust recruitment, training, consultant resource, and internal staffing levels to cope with this backdrop.
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. Despite the downturn in demand, the average number of consultants assigned per client remained broadly similar, ensuring a comparable revenue performance to 2022.
FDM delivered 1,338 training completions during the year, more than halved from 3,179 in 2022, which the company attributes to dampened levels of client demand.
FDM ended the year with a GBP47 million cash balance, up from GBP46 million in 2022, with no debt as of December 31. Strong cash conversion was also reported at 112% from 108% a year prior.
Commenting on the year's results, 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."
Shares in FDM were down 1.8% at 443.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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