Management Consulting Group PLC Pre-Close Statement (6628X)
January 15 2014 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMMMC
RNS Number : 6628X
Management Consulting Group PLC
15 January 2014
15 January 2014
Management Consulting Group PLC
Pre-Close Statement
Management Consulting Group PLC ("MCG" or "the Group"), the
international professional services group, today provides a
pre-close statement ahead of the announcement of the Group's 2013
preliminary results on 6th March 2014.
MCG expects to report revenue and underlying operating profit*
for the 2013 financial year slightly below expectations.
As previously detailed, Kurt Salmon has been affected during
2013 by weak demand in France, its biggest market. Over the course
of the year management took action to align resources in the French
business to the reduced revenue levels, and in recent months there
has been some evidence that market conditions in France have
stabilised. Kurt Salmon's operations in North America and Asia,
mainly focused on the retail and consumer goods sector, have
performed well and most units in these geographies are expected to
report increased revenues for 2013 compared with 2012. The current
outlook for Kurt Salmon as a whole in the new financial year is for
some revenue growth outside France and a slight improvement in
operating margins.
As previously reported, after a weak first half, Alexander
Proudfoot's second half performance improved and it is expected to
report total revenues for the second half of the year close to
those reported in the second half of 2012, together with a much
improved operating profit margin. However, the year end order book
position, although higher than the position twelve months ago, is
lower than at the 2013 half year stage, and the rate of order
intake will need to increase in the first quarter of 2014 in order
to deliver material revenue growth and margin improvement for 2014
as a whole. Consequently the Board has a cautious view at this
stage on the outlook for Alexander Proudfoot as it starts the new
financial year.
The Board will provide a further update on trading and the
outlook for 2014 in its preliminary announcement in early March
2014.
Net indebtedness expected to be reported at 31 December 2013 is
approximately GBP40m compared with GBP51.7m at 30 June 2013 and
GBP30.3m at 31 December 2012.
On 30 October 2012 MCG announced that it intended to commence a
share buy-back programme to make market purchases of up to GBP5m of
its ordinary shares over the succeeding twelve months, and on 31
October 2013 it announced that the programme would be extended for
a further six months. During 2013 the Company purchased 1,549,000
of its ordinary shares of 1 pence each for a total consideration of
GBP0.4m. In addition, during 2013 the trustees of the Management
Consulting Group PLC Employee Benefit Trust purchased 1,067,000 of
the Company's shares, for a total consideration of GBP0.3m, for use
in satisfying future awards under the Company's employee share
incentive plans.
*The term 'underlying' is defined as "before non-recurring
items, the amortisation of acquired intangible assets and
theimpairment of acquired goodwill from continuing operations".
Nick Stagg, CEO, commented:
"Alexander Proudfoot had a difficult start to 2013, and whilst
the second half performance improved significantly, the result for
the year as a whole will be disappointing. The Board's efforts will
focus on sustaining and improving the performance of Alexander
Proudfoot for the long term, but at this stage we have a cautious
view on the outlook for this business in 2014. Kurt Salmon's
performance has continued to be affected by weakness in the French
market, where it is a leading player in the consulting sector, but
we have taken action in 2013 to adjust resources to the right level
and therefore to protect our margins in 2014. Elsewhere, in our
other European operations, and in North America and Asia, Kurt
Salmon continues to perform well."
For further information please contact:
Management Consulting Group Tel: +44 20 7710 5000
PLC
Nick Stagg, Chief Executive
Chris Povey, Group Finance Director
FTI Consulting (formerly Financial Tel: +44 20 7831 3113
Dynamics)
Ben Atwell, Victoria Foster-Mitchell
Notes to editors:
Management Consulting Group PLC (MMC.L) provides professional
services across a wide range of industries and sectors.
It comprises two independently managed practices: Alexander
Proudfoot and Kurt Salmon. Alexander Proudfoot develops and
implements operational improvements to its clients to increase
productivity and reduce costs. Kurt Salmon provides consultancy
services to a wide range of industries in both the private and
public sectors. The Group operates worldwide. For further
information, visit www.mcgplc.com.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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