22 Apr 2015 09:45
22 April 2015
Management Consulting Group PLC ("MCG")
Interim Management Statement
To coincide with today's Annual General Meeting, Management Consulting Group PLC ('MCG' or 'the Group') today provides an Interim Management Statement for the period from 1 January 2015 to 22 April 2015.
The outlook for the Group remains as reported in our Preliminary Results Statement on 5 March 2015.
Kurt Salmon had a good start to 2015. In France our revenues are stable and there are some signs of improving market confidence, but it remains to be seen whether this will have a significant positive impact on our business this year. Elsewhere in Europe our financial services and retail consulting practices are performing well. In North America we are seeing continued strong demand for our services. As previously reported, for Kurt Salmon overall we expect the trends we saw in 2014 to continue in 2015. The current order book in Kurt Salmon is at a similar level to the same period last year.
Alexander Proudfoot had a satisfactory start to 2015 although the rate of order input will need to build from current levels to meet our objectives for the year as a whole. The current order book is lower than the same stage last year but there is a promising pipeline of opportunities. The investment and change initiatives that we launched in 2014 to build a firmer platform for revenue growth are continuing this year and, as previously reported, will have some adverse effect on profitability. The implementation of these initiatives is most advanced in the North American business unit which delivered an improved performance in the first quarter of 2015, offset by a slightly weaker outcome in the European and African business units. At this stage the Board retains a cautious view on the outlook for Alexander Proudfoot for 2015 as a whole.
The first half of the year is typically not cash generative as a result of the timing of the payment of the Group's annual bonuses from the previous financial year. As a result net indebtedness will increase at the 2015 half year compared to the end of 2014 as in previous years, but we do not expect to report a year on year increase in net debt at 30 June 2015.
Subject to shareholder approval at today's Annual General Meeting, the final dividend of 0.595 pence per share will be paid on 7 July 2015 to shareholders on the register on 15 May.
Nick Stagg, Chief Executive, commented:
"The outlook for the Group remains as reported at the time of our 2014 results announcement in March. We are continuing to drive change in Alexander Proudfoot, and have seen a positive impact in the North American business unit, where the roll-out of these initiatives is most advanced. In the short term our focus remains on generating higher levels of order input in Alexander Proudfoot over the year as a whole. Kurt Salmon has had a good start to the year, with the larger practices in France and North America both performing in line with our expectations, and an encouraging order book and pipeline at this stage."
For further information please contact:
Management Consulting Group PLC | ||
Nick Stagg | Chief Executive | 020 7710 5000 |
Chris Povey | Finance Director | 020 7710 5000 |
FTI Consulting | ||
Ben Atwell Victoria Foster Mitchell | 0203 727 1000 | |
Notes to Editors
Management Consulting Group PLC (MMC.L) provides professional services across a wide range of industries and sectors. It comprises two independently managed practices: Alexander Proudfoot and Kurt Salmon, which both operate worldwide. Alexander Proudfoot helps clients to embed disciplined execution in their operations to achieve growth targets, revenue and profit goals. Kurt Salmon provides services to a wide range of industries. For further information, visit www.mcgplc.com.