Skillsgroup Plc has closed the lid on a year of unprecedented change for the UK-based IT training, recruitment and consultancy firm. Having changed its name from P&P Plc, the company has made radical changes to its business composition, disposing of all of its hardware related divisions to focus purely on what it calls technology skills-based operations. Net losses for the year to November 30 were ú18.9m compared to profits last time of ú10.3m but the figures include a charge of ú28m for the post year end disposal of discontinued operations, namely the old P&P desktop computer businesses on which the company was founded. The disposals (mostly complete but with the small Belgian operation still for sale) take with them over half of group revenues, but only 20% of operating profits. The reorganization bears out the boards stated aims of withdrawing entirely from the low margin PC marketplace, and leaves the QA training, recruitment and consultancy business trading alongside the Acuma systems integration division. These two businesses are now the future of the much reduced group, and in 1997, they collectively grew revenues by 46% to ú171m while profits before interest and tax grew 17% to ú11m. The disposals also bring the group into a net cash positive position, allowing it more freedom to hunt for keenly priced corporate acquisitions. Although Rob Burnham, QA group managing director said he wasn’t interested in building up a conglomerate. Skillsgroup has chosen the market it wants to play in, and acquisitions will be focused on acquiring skilled staff, not new business areas. The final dividend has been increased by 21% to 2.9 pence bringing the total for the year to 4.2 pence, up 15%. The increase is intended to signal the board’s confidence in the future of the group, said finance director John Atkin.
