FDM maintains confidence despite second-quarter slowdown

The FTSE 250 company, which was holding its annual general meeting, said recent issues in the banking and finance sector contributed to the softer trading across its operating territories.

Despite the challenges being faced in banking and finance, FDM said none of its clients had been directly impacted by the issues affecting a limited number of banking institutions.

However, the general uncertainty prevailing in the sector had led to delays in client decisions over the placement of consultants.

Nonetheless, FDM Group said it was maintaining “encouraging” levels of client engagement, with the board optimistic that confidence in the banking and finance sector would improve as the second half progressed.

As at 30 April, FDM had 4,774 consultants assigned to clients, compared to 4,905 on 31 December, and 4,429 on 30 April 2022.

Despite the slight decrease in assigned consultants, the company maintained a robust balance sheet.

At the end of April, FDM said it had £47.5m of cash, with no debt, compared to £45.5m of cash and no debt on 31 December, and £54.9m of cash and no debt at the end of April last year.

“Benefiting from FDM's scalable and flexible business model, the group has taken appropriate measures to adjust recruitment and training to ensure continued alignment of supply with the current demand for consultants,” chair David Lister explained.

“The board's expectations for the group's financial performance for the year are unchanged.”

At 0824 BST, shares in FDM Group Holdings were down 5.21% at 618p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.