First quarter loss for Saville

Outplacement services provider Saville says trading is slower than expected and house broker FinnCap is reviewing its forecast. The main disappointment is the core outplacement business, which had a weak first half, although there are signs of improvement. The board practice and talent management services businesses are slightly ahead of budget. It is difficult to judge the long-term outlook because there is a lack of visibility of business and the first quarter is always a seasonally weak period. Saville hopes that there will be opportunities from the public sector cuts. FinnCap was forecasting a recovery in profit from £600,000 to £1m in the year to June 2010 but this is likely to be too optimistic. The first quarter was loss-making and was £200,000 behind expectations. Saville wants to make acquisitions so that it has a more balanced and less cyclical revenue base. Ls -3x Avgo