Business
First-Quarter Trading and COVID-19 Update
First-Quarter Trading and COVID-19 Update.
About this update from Fdm Group (holdings) Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 4004L\n FDM Group (Holdings) plc\n 30 April 2020\n \n \n \n \n 30 April 2020\n \n \n FDM Group (Holdings) plc (\"FDM Group\" or \"the Group\")\n \n \n First-Quarter Trading and COVID-19 Update\n \n \n FDM Group today issues a first-quarter trading and Covid-19 update.\n \n \n First-Quarter Trading\n \n \n Trading in the first quarter was in line with the Board's expectations, the period having been only marginally impacted by the national lockdowns in the territories in which we operate. Revenues for the quarter were £71.0m (Q1 2019: £67.2m). The number of Mounties placed with clients currently stands at 3,802 (AGM, 25 April 2019: 3,848 Mounties; Y/E 2019: 3,924 Mounties). \n \n \n The Group's balance sheet remains strong with £44.3m of cash and no debt as at 31 March 2020 (compared with £37.0m of cash at 31 December 2019 and £37.0m of cash at 31 March 2019).\n \n \n COVID-19\n \n \n As we indicated at the end of March, the significant majority of our Mounties are working remotely, continuing their client placements with revenue-generating work. We continue to recruit, albeit at reduced levels, and the number of applicants to our Academies remains encouraging. Our business continuity plans have enabled us to move quickly to use our technology so that our recruitment processes and Academies in all our territories, which are now operating remotely, are performing efficiently and effectively. \n \n \n Whilst Mountie headcount has been relatively resilient to date, post-lockdown a number of Mounties have had their placements terminated early by clients operating in some of the sectors most badly affected by COVID-19. We have also been experiencing a reduction in the weekly number of new deals, and some of our clients have needed additional time for the remote on-boarding of Mounties to new placements. Whilst we have taken action to mitigate the adverse impacts of the pandemic on our business, at present we have no intention of accessing the UK Government furlough scheme or of reducing pay for employees. \n \n \n As at today's date it is not possible to estimate with any degree of precision the extent of the impact on the Group's earnings in 2020 arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we have modelled a number of potential scenarios and possible outcomes, including some which are significantly more s...