FDM says full year to be in line with expectations

The company, which provides professional services with a focus on IT, said it was maintaining its focus "on ensuring that the group retains its critical core of experienced internal staff, while aligning our levels of consultant resource to meet our clients' needs".

It said there were 2,906 consultants assigned to clients at the end of October, down from 4,136 at the same time a year earlier and 3,469 at the end of June.

FDM said the balance sheet was "robust", with £47.7m of cash at 31 October, versus £35.3m in the same period a year earlier, and no debt.

"We have seen in the past few weeks somewhat improved activity, to differing levels across our geographies, but it is too early to judge whether this will be sustained," it said.

"We anticipate that the changes to Employer's National Insurance Contributions announced in the recent UK Government Budget, together with those to employee rights, will make our consultants more attractive to our clients, but there will be a lag before the former can be reflected in increased rates for our clients."

FMD said it expects market conditions to remain uncertain as we head into next year and that it’s "difficult to predict" when they will improve.

"Consequently, the board will continue to take the appropriate measures to adjust recruitment, training, and staffing levels to align with market conditions and seek to optimise the performance of the group for all of our stakeholders."