LONDON (Alliance News) - Staffing company Management Resource Solutions PLC on Monday said its pretax loss widened in the year to the end of June due to one-off costs related to the collapse of its planned acquisition of D&M Group.
The company said its pretax loss for the year to June 30 was AUD1.7 million, compared to a AUD250,000 profit a year earlier, mainly related to one-off costs it booked after its proposed acquisition of Australia's D&M Group, a manufacturing and equipment hire group, fell through in late June.
That offset a big rise in revenue in the half, up to AUD17.5 million from AUD10.5 million, and also resulted in the group cancelling its final dividend payment, as the D&M costs added to the one-offs booked on its London float in December 2014. It had paid an interim dividend of 0.35 pence per share.
Management Resource Solutions said its staffing business performed well over the year, while its project management arm has continued to make progress.
Following the end of the year, the group signed a non-binding heads of terms to acquire an earthmoving business in Australia and is working towards reaching an agreement on that deal, which like the D&M deal would constitute a reverse takeover.
"Our core service offering in the human capital and project management businesses performed well and we are on target with our strategy to become a leading supplier of solutions and products to the engineering market," said Paul Morffew, the company's chief executive.
"Post period end, we are working hard on delivering the acquisition announced and have completed much of the critical pathway to executing this," he added.
Shares in the company are currently suspended amid the talks for the reverse takeover.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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