Sales at school supplier RM (RM.) slumped 22 per cent in its first half as it revamped its core education technology division to sell software and services rather than PCs. However, it still managed to increase its operating profit – adjusted for restructuring costs – by almost half to £7.3m.
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That gain shows the benefit of selling higher-margin IT offerings – RM’s operating margin nearly doubled to 8 per cent. It also increased sales by 11 and 3 per cent at its supplies and on-screen testing segments, respectively. Meanwhile, it slashed its workforce by 14 per cent to 1,885 people, which should lower its costs going forward.
