Markets remain challenging at RM

16th May 2011 07:32

Education IT services provider RM swung to a pre-tax loss and said UK and US markets remain challenging amid ongoing spending cuts.Budget cuts in the UK and US has hurt demand for its services while trading conditions continue to be very challenging, RM explained.For the six months ended 31 March 2011 adjusted loss before tax of £1.4m compared to a profit of £1.2m in 2010. Restructuring charges increased to £1.8m from £0.8m the year before. Revenue for the half year fell 15% to £133m. Commenting on the results chief executive Terry Sweeney said, "We experienced challenging market conditions in our core markets in the first half, as customers continued to respond to changes in policy and funding in both the UK and the US.""We have realigned our cost base through a restructuring programme to reflect the changed conditions and to protect group profitability."RM said it continues to attract new business and win major contracts. Forward committed revenues rose 12% to £436m at 31 March 2011.The interim dividend rose by 6% to 1.47p. CJ