Interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2008

Matchtech Group plc ("Matchtech" or the "Group"), one of the UK's leading specialist technical recruitment companies, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 January 2008.

Financial Highlights

  • Revenue up 25% to £116.6m (2007 H1: £93.4m)*
  • Net fee income (Gross Profit) up 22% to £15.3m (2007 H1: £12.5m)*
  • Operating profit up 24% to £6.2m (2007 H1: £5.0m)*
  • Operating profit margin 5.3% (2007 H1: 5.4%)*
  • Adjusted Profit Before Tax (before non-recurring items) up 21% to £5.7m (2007 H1: £4.7m)
  • Reported Profit Before Tax (after non-recurring items) up 39% to £5.7m (2007 H1: £4.1m)
  • Cash flow from operating activities up 112% to £8.7m (2007 H1: £4.1m)
  • Adjusted Basic EPS (before non-recurring items) up 8% to 17.09p (2007 H1: 15.86p)
  • Reported Basic EPS (after non-recurring items) up 26% to 17.09p (2007 H1: 13.59p)
  • Interim dividend 5.0 pence per share (2007: 4.4 pence) up 14%

*2007 results exclude the sales and profits from the US business sold on 31 August 2006 as well as the non-recurring costs of the IPO

This is the first set of financial statements that the Group is required to prepare in accordance with accordance with IAS 34 "Interim Financial Reporting" and the requirements of IFRS 1 "First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards" relevant to interim reports, because they are part of the period covered by the Group's first IFRS financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2008. They do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2007 which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditor's report on those financial statements was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 237 (2) and (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The transition to IFRS is explained in Note 2 to these interim financial statements. All comparatives have been re-stated in accordance with IFRS.

Operating Highlights

  • Strong organic growth across all sectors (Engineering, Built Environment and Support Services)
  • 33% increase in permanent placements, 31% increase in permanent fees
  • 10% increase in contractor numbers, 19% increase in contract NFI
  • 39% increase in sales headcount to 189 from 136

Commenting on the results, George Materna, Chairman of Matchtech said:

"We are very pleased with these results confirming that Matchtech has sustained good progress through organic growth across all three of the Group's sectors.

The sectors that we serve continue to exhibit strong structural growth characteristics. Moreover we have a highly diversified and expanding customer base, which provides further opportunities for growth and adds an element of protection to our business.

Candidates and Contractors remain in short supply, with wage inflation continuing in each of the sectors in which we operate. This demonstrates that the market continues to be candidate driven, allowing Matchtech to utilise its superior service delivery capabilities to gain market share.