Last checked at 22 Mar 2017 11:00
22 March 2017
RM plc
Annual General Meeting Statement
At the AGM of RM plc ("RM"), the educational resources, IT services and software group, to be held today at 11.30am, John Poulter, Chairman, will make the following statement:
"The continued uncertainty over UK school funding is leading to caution in schools around discretionary expenditure. In particular, demand for the curriculum specific products that TTS provides is down more than expected on prior year as schools also absorb the unbudgeted impact of this year's increase in staffing costs. Trading in the first quarter in TTS's International business continued its positive trend.
In March, RM Results extended the contract with the Department for Education for the School Performance Tables until March 2019 and also signed a 5 year framework agreement to provide a Global Assessment Platform for Oxford University Press.
As previously announced, the proposed acquisition of Connect Group plc's Education and Care business has been voluntarily notified to the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA"). The CMA's formal Phase 1 review process is expected to commence shortly, after which it will have 40 working days to confirm the outcome of its initial review. A further announcement will be made at that time.
Cash and short-term deposits as at 28 February were £28.7m.
The full year outlook for the Group remains in-line with the Board's expectations.
The Board is recommending a final dividend of 4.50 pence per share which, together with the interim dividend paid in September 2016, constitutes a total dividend for the year ended 30 November 2016 of 6.00 pence, an increase of 20% over the prior year."
Contacts:
RM plc 08450 700300
David Brooks, Chief Executive Officer
Neil Martin, Chief Financial Officer
Greg Davidson, Company Secretary
FTI Consulting 020 3727 1000
Chris Lane / Elena Kalinskaya
The RM plc group comprises the following divisions:
RM Resources
The RM Resources Division consists of the operating business TTS. TTS is a leading provider of educational resources to UK schools, with over 19,000 product lines.
RM Results
The RM Results business provides IT software and services to enable onscreen exam marking (e-marking), onscreen testing (e-testing) and the management and analysis of educational data. Its customers include government ministries, exam boards and professional awarding bodies in the UK and around the world.
RM Education
RM Education is a UK focused business supplying IT services and software to schools and colleges.