FDM Group (Holdings) plc Trading Statement (4130U)

TIDMFDM

RNS Number : 4130U

FDM Group (Holdings) plc

18 January 2017

EMBARGOED UNTIL 18th JANUARY 2017

FDM GROUP (HOLDINGS) PLC

("FDM" or "the Company")

PERIOD END TRADING STATEMENT

FDM today announces its period end trading update to 31st December 2016, ahead of its full year results which will be released on 8th March 2017.

Group Trading in the Period

FDM and its subsidiaries (together the "Group") performed well in the second half of 2016. This strong performance and favourable exchange rate movements both contributed to the Board now anticipating that the Group will deliver full-year results ahead of its expectations.

FDM closed the year with 2,705 Mounties placed on client sites at week 52, 2016 (week 52, 2015; 2,022 Mounties placed on client sites), representing an increase of 33.8 per cent in the number of Mounties placed on client sites in the 12 month period (2015 increase 31.4 per cent).

North America, with 832 Mounties placed at the year end (2015: 520), and APAC, with 233 Mounties placed at year end (2015: 105), returned excellent performances. Other than a temporary slowdown, which has since stabilised, in mid Q4 at one government department as a consequence of its restructure, the UK saw sustained demand throughout the period, with 1,505 Mounties placed at the year end (2015: 1,264). Our EMEA operations, with 135 Mounties placed at year end (2015: 133), performed satisfactorily apart from experiencing weaker conditions in the small Switzerland market.

Balance Sheet

The Group's balance sheet remains strong with no debt and significant cash balances.

Outlook

Rod Flavell, Group CEO, commented:

"2016 saw the Group perform well against a backdrop of political surprises and grow Mountie revenues by over 40 per cent on a reported basis and over 34 per cent on a constant currency basis. The Group's overall financial performance was strong which, together with our robust balance sheet and increased training capacity, positions us well as we enter 2017.

I fully expect the Group to continue to deliver solid operational and financial progress in 2017."

This announcement contains inside information.

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Enquiries

For further information:

 
                    Rod Flavell - 
 FDM                 CEO                0203 056 8240 
   Mike McLaren - 
    CFO                                  0203 056 8240 
                    Nick Oborne/ Tom 
 Weber Shandwick     Jenkins            020 7067 0000 
 

About FDM

FDM Group (Holdings) plc ("the Company") and its subsidiaries (together "the Group" or "FDM") is a global professional services provider with a focus on IT.

The Group's principal business activities involve recruiting, training and placing its own permanent IT and business consultants (known as "Mounties") at client sites. These take place across a range of technical and business disciplines including Development, Testing, Support, Project Management Office, Data Services, Business Analysis, Business Intelligence and Cyber Security. The Group also supplies contractors to customers, either to supplement its own employed consultants' skill sets or to provide greater experience where required.

The Group has training academies and sales operations in dedicated facilities located in London, Leeds, Glasgow, New York, Virginia, Toronto, Frankfurt, Singapore and Hong Kong. In addition, FDM operates in China, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Austria and South Africa. FDM has established partnerships with key universities, enabling it to recruit high quality graduates to train as Mounties.

FDM is a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, with around 75 nationalities working together as a team. The Group encourages and supports the recruitment of women into the IT industry, promoting their advancement through the "FDM Women in IT" initiative. The Group also actively recruits ex-Forces personnel in both the UK and the USA. The Group has launched a '"Getting Back to Business" programme in the UK and Singapore, aiding those workers who are ready to re-enter the workplace after a career break. This launch follows the success of our pilot programme in Hong Kong.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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January 18, 2017 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)