PTY.L Regulatory News (PTY)

Parity Group plc  

("Parity" or the "Company") 

Trading update

Parity, the data and technology-focussed recruitment and professional services company, is pleased to provide an update on trading for the financial year ending 31 December 2021 ("FY 2021").

Following a change in management in June 2021 and the decision to refocus the business around its core recruitment solutions capability, the Group is pleased to confirm it has met or marginally exceeded market expectations for FY2021.

· Group revenue is anticipated to be slightly ahead of the £47.6m target.

· Net Fee Income ("NFI") in line with expectations of £4.1m

· The Group anticipates a modest Adjusted EBITDA profit, instead of an expected small loss.

· Through improvements in working capital management the Group closed the year with an improved Net debt (pre-IFRS16 adjusted) position of £1.2m, ahead of market expectations.

Over the last 3-6 months Parity has taken steps to flatten the management structure of the Group and refocus resources from non-core activities into its core recruitment solutions business. The result is a material increase in customer-facing headcount that has begun to make an impact, improving customer engagement and performance.

Having rebalanced the core team to meet existing customer demands, Parity plans to focus its investment in 2022 on extending its sales and marketing capacity to drive innovative recruitment solutions to meet the growing demand for highly skilled resources across data, technology and change management.

Mark Braund, Executive Chairman, said:

"I am pleased we have achieved the financial expectations reset earlier in the year and am delighted the team has rapidly and successfully rebuilt the core recruitment capability within Parity, providing the platform for driving the recovery in value and performance of the business.

Through the operational leadership of Izzy (Isobel) Brown and CFO, Mike Johns, Parity has achieved a rapid and positive change in the culture, motivation and performance of the team. In doing so they have established a solid foundation from which we now take on the next challenge, that of growth, by delivering innovative higher-value solutions that help our customers secure in-demand talent.

We have more to do, however the achievements so far position us well for the year ahead."

-ENDS-