Kellan Group Regulatory News (KLN)

21 Feb 2006 09:00

Berkeley Scott Group Plc21 February 2006 21 February 2006 Berkeley Scott Group Plc ("Berkeley Scott" or the "Company") Chairman's AGM Statement At the AGM held at 9.00am this morning, Jeremy Hamer, Chairman of Berkeley ScottGroup Plc gave the following trading update: "The Board of Berkeley Scott regrets to report that the Company has experienceddisappointing trading in its Permanent Recruitment Division during December andJanuary and that, as a consequence, it may not achieve market expectations forthe full year. We have responded swiftly to this situation by appointing a newhead of our Permanent Recruitment Division, and are implementing a series ofcost saving initiatives, which should result in a net reduction of £300,000 toour cost base within the current financial year, and a reduction of £500,000 ina full year. However, the other divisions are performing strongly and both the TemporaryRecruitment and Executive Search divisions are performing ahead of last year interms of Net Fee Income. The poor performance of the Permanent Recruitment Division has resulted directlyfrom an unsatisfactory rate of conversion of opportunities; the number of newassignments is running at a higher level than last year and continues to rise.Simone Makepeace was appointed as head of the Permanent Recruitment Division on30th January 2006 and has already implemented operational changes, which, it ishoped, will improve productivity rates. She has over 25 years experience in therecruitment industry and was, from 2000 until 2001, a main board director ofReed Employment plc. The Company's bank has been made aware of the actions taken and remains fullysupportive of the Company and its management. The Board is confident that theactions that have been taken will address the disappointing performance of thePermanent Recruitment Division, and that together with the other divisionscontinuing to exceed expectations, this will enable us to record a much moresatisfactory result in the second part of the year. Enquiries: Berkeley Scott GroupRoddy Watt, Chief Executive 01483 414141Will Coker, Chief Financial Officer Cardew GroupTim Robertson 020 7930 0777Catherine Maitland This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange