14 May 2024

FDM GROUP (HOLDINGS) PLC ("FDM GROUP", "FDM" or "THE GROUP")

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING STATEMENT

FDM Group, a global professional services provider with a focus on Information Technology, today holds its Annual General Meeting.

David Lister, Chair of the Board, will present the following update to the meeting:

"Group Trading in the Period and Balance Sheet

The Group has traded in line with the Board's expectations during the first four months of the year, with the softer trading conditions, which we reported to the market at the time of the Group's Preliminary Results on 20 March 2024, continuing.

At 30 April 2024 the Group had 3,543 Consultants assigned with clients (31 December 2023: 3,892; 30 April 2023: 4,774), a decrease of 26% on the prior year. Our levels of Consultant recruitment, and the numbers of Consultants in our Skills Lab (previously known as our Academy), remain under close scrutiny to ensure that our available resource aligns with client demand across our operating locations.

The Board has continued to take prudent measures to manage fixed costs such that internal staff headcount at 30 April 2024 was 20% lower than the corresponding period in 2023, better aligning the size of the internal organisation with the number of Consultants assigned to clients. We remain committed to maintaining appropriate levels of resource and capacity to meet clients' needs promptly when our markets improve. 

The Group's balance sheet remains robust with cash balances at 30 April 2024 of £46 million (30 April 2023: £47 million). The Group has no debt.

Outlook    

Whilst many of our clients' decisions on commencing major projects continue to be subject to delay or deferral as a result of the macro-economic and geo-political uncertainties that remain in most of our regions, we are nevertheless seeing the very early signs of improvement in certain areas."

This announcement may contain statements which constitute 'forward-looking statements'. Although FDM Group believes that the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that these expectations will prove to have been correct. Because these statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

ENDS

For further information, please contact: