RM to fall short of expectations

22nd Jul 2011 08:00

Education IT services provider RM had a tough time between 1 April and 21 July and thinks its performance may have been below expectations.The company, which has previously detailed the impact of education spending cuts in the UK and the US, said markets remain difficult."Due to the seasonality of many of the group's businesses it is difficult to predict accurately the outcome for the current period until after the summer," the company said. "However, the board has undertaken a forecast review and the balance of probabilities suggests an outcome that may be below the board's previous expectations."The company has been conducting a review over the past couple of months and will issue the final outcome in late autumn. It still expects to accrue cash flow benefits from past investment in the 'Building Schools for the Future' programme, which was scrapped by the coalition government last year.This, and the company's strong position in the education market in the UK, "should enable the group to adapt to the anticipated decline in education expenditure, although shareholders should anticipate a potentially difficult and unpredictable period in the near term. "The board will take the necessary actions to mitigate the changes in the market environment."