FDM's move to reposition itself as a high margin IT service provider has begun to bear fruit. The number of Mounties - internally trained permanent staff that are contracted to clients - being placed with clients increased by almost 30 per cent to a record 246 in the first half, with utilisation rates remaining high at 97.8 per cent.
Meanwhile contractor numbers declined 11 per cent to 411 alongside the planned move away from lower margin higher volume business. This transition has worked well, with gross margins improving 4.7 percentage points to 25.6 per cent, which is comfortably higher than average IT staffing sector margins of around 20 per cent.
Soaring demand has meant that FDM's newly opened Manchester training centre is now near full capacity and management are planning to expand capacity in its London centre by another 50 per cent by the first quarter of 2009. The financial services sector - which accounts for about half of sales - remains a 'sector that is driving growth', as increased activity is now being carried out on smaller budgets.
Brewin Dolphin expects full year pre-tax profits of £5.1m, giving EPS of 15p (12.3p in 2007) .
| ORD PRICE: | 79p | MARKET VALUE: | £18m | |
| TOUCH: | 77-80p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 134p | LOW:74p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.7% | PE RATIO: | 6 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 51p | NET CASH: | £5.3m | |
| Six months to 30 Jun | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 24.4 | 1.83 | 5.3 | 0.8 |
| 2008 | 25.4 | 2.39 | 6.9 | 1.0 |
| % change | +4 | +31 | +30 | +25 |
Ex-div: 27 Aug Payment: 26 Sep | ||||
