Trading Statement

RNS Number : 6213W

Impellam Group plc

15 November 2017

 

Impellam Group plc

(''Impellam'' or the ''Company'')

Trading update

Impellam plc, a leading provider of managed services and specialist staffing expertise, issues the following trading update prior to entering its close period for its full year results for the 52 weeks ending 29^th December 2017.

Trading performance

Notwithstanding the ongoing disruption in the UK healthcare market and generally challenging trading conditions in the UK including Brexit uncertainty, pay rate stagnation and increased cost of compliance, whilst EBITDA is likely to be slightly below market expectations the Board is pleased to confirm that it expects to deliver 2017 pre-tax profits in line with market expectations.

 Younifi, our new business that provides a full-service solution to help councils better manage, fund and provide adult social care services, continues to gain momentum and has just reached a major milestone. In October 2017 and following a competitive tender, Younifi became the sole supplier on a new and highly innovative national framework called Managing Care Solutions, led by the procurement specialist YPO. The framework provides an easier route for all UK local authorities, who collectively spend over £21bn per year on adult social care, to purchase Younifi's solution and there has already been clear intent from the first local authority to adopt Younifi.

Good progress is being made in the achievement of our strategic initiatives including new technological solutions in the UK and Australia Healthcare markets which has resulted in 9 wins in H2.   Amongst these wins is our first Staffbank contract which is an important milestone as we evolve our service offering to closely align to NHS strategic objectives.

Our Group Fill initiative continues to yield results with progress in North America being particularly noteworthy since the acquisition of Bartech, leading to staffing margin gains from US Managed Service programmes, which together with new implementations have partially offset the impact of delayed 2016 implementations.

 Our Australian businesses continue to perform very well in Healthcare, Managed Services and Specialist Staffing. After seven years' service The Honourable Shane Stone has notified the Company of his intention to step down from the Board with immediate effect, in order to concentrate on his charitable interests in Australia, however the Board is pleased to confirm that he will continue to serve as an advisor to the Company in its Australian markets.

In light of the challenging market conditions in the UK, we have been managing the business prudently and as a result we have 110 (3%) fewer people than at the end of June 2017. Cash generation continues to be strong and we expect net debt to be lower (circa £89m) than at the end of 2016 (31 December 2016: £95.2m).

Outlook

Whilst the UK markets have been challenging, the Board remains confident that the Groups strategic initiatives, combined with both selective investment in growth opportunities and prudent cost management will deliver sustainable profit streams into 2018.

Enquiries:  For further information please contact the appropriate individual below:

Impellam Group plc
Julia Robertson, Group Chief Executive Officer Alison Wilford, Chief Financial Officer	Tel: [phone] Tel: [phone]
Cenkos Securities plc (NOMAD and Corporate Broker to Impellam)
Nicholas Wells Mark Connelly	Tel: [phone]

Note to Editors:

Impellam Group plc, traded on the AIM (Symbol: IPEL) is a leading provider of Managed Services and Specialist Staffing expertise and is primarily based in the UK and North America, with smaller operations in Asia Pacific, Ireland and mainland Europe.  Impellam Group plc provides fulfilling jobs at all levels, including doctors, lawyers, accountants, nurses, teachers, scientists, receptionists, drivers, chefs, administrators, engineers, technology specialists, cleaners, security guards, and manufacturing and warehouse operatives. Impellam Group plc is the 2nd largest staffing business in the UK and 6th largest MSP provider worldwide (as measured by Spend Under Management), employing over 3,400 people across 182 worldwide locations.

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