Interim losses widen at Kin and Carta

Consultancy firm Kin and Carta said on Wednesday that it has swung deeper into the red, as the weak economic backdrop weighed on client confidence.

The digital transformation specialist said net revenues in the six months to 31 January were £98.7m, up 15% but down 6% on a like-for-like basis, because of "macroeconomic headwinds".

Underlying revenues fell 1% in the Americas, and by 16% in Europe, where sales were hit by the "challenging" UK economy. Around 81% of Kin and Carta’s European revenue is derived from the UK.

Adjusted pre-tax profits edged up to £6.5m from £6.3m a year previously, but the statutory net loss widened to £15.1m from £3.3m.

Kelly Manthey, chief executive, said: "The first half has been challenging, with widespread client spending caution experienced across our industry."

However, looking to the second half, the London-listed firm said that while it remained mindful of the economic backdrop, it expected both organic growth and profitability to improve in the second half.

It said the sales pipeline currently stood at £166m, a 45% improvement on the previous year, with a "record-breaking" order backlog of £124m.

As at 1045 GMT, shares in Kin and Carta were down nearly 2% at 100p.