FDM trades in line as Mounties revenue rises

FDM said first-quarter trading was in line with expectations as the IT services and recruitment company shifted towards higher-margin business.

The FTSE 250 company said group revenue fell 1% in the three months to the end of March but was up 3% excluding currency swings.

Revenue from FDM’s Mountie programme, which supplies banks and other companies with direct IT support, rose 13%, or 17% at constant currency. Mountie is FDM’s flagship project for moving into more profitable activities, named after the Canadian mounted police.

FDM employs freelance contractors and a growing army of its own consultants, known as Mounties, who are loaned out to clients but rarely on horseback unlike their namesakes. On 23 April the number of Mounties on client sites rose to 3,310 from 2,826 a year earlier.

Ivan Martin, FDM’s chairman, will tell the company’s annual general meeting: “Trading … reflects the expected and planned improvement in the quality of the group's income, with a reduction in lower-margin contractor revenues and increased higher-margin Mountie revenues.

“We have seen good client engagement across our operating locations and the board is confident that 2018 will see the group deliver against its operational and financial targets."

In March, FDM reported a 26% rise in annual profit to £47.2m, helped by the growing Mountie business. The company plans to maintain its freelance contractor business as a source of revenue before winding it down in the long run.