(Alliance News) - IT consultant and recruiter FDM Group Holdings PLC on Wednesday said it is trading in line with board expectations despite ongoing pandemic challenges.
Pretax profit for the six months ended June 30 was GBP20.5 million, a fall of 3.3% year-on-year from GBP21.2 million.
The London-based firm posted revenue of GBP131.3 million, down 6.5% from GBP140.5 million.
Revenue fell due to a lower average number of Mounties deployed during the first half of 2021, reflecting the "very strong" first quarter 2020 performance ahead of the pandemic. However, the Mountie utilisation rate in the recent six months was 96.9%, up from 95.0% a year ago.
FDM's 'Mountie' operation recruits, trains and deploys its own permanent IT and business consultants to customer premises.
Recruitment and training levels ramped up significantly in the first half to meet growing client demand. Training completions in the first half were up 23% to 1,025 from 831 a year ago. Current trainee numbers are at record levels.
FDM declared an interim dividend of 15.0 pence per share, cut by 19% from 18.5 pence in the prior year.
"We are investing significantly in a programme to transform our academy offering, using the latest technologies and training methods to drive growth as demand for our Mounties increases. The board is confident that the group is well placed to achieve its expectations for the current year and to deliver long-term growth," said Chief Executive Rod Flavell.
Shares in FDM were up 0.5% to 1,126.00 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
By Amrit Sahota; newsroom@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
FDM Group (FDM)