Revenue, earnings to fall at Driver Group

(Sharecast News) - Dispute avoidance and resolution consultancy Driver Group said in a trading update on Thursday that it expected to report revenue of £22.5m for its first half, slightly down from £24.2m a year earlier. The AIM-traded firm said underlying group profit before tax was set to be around £0.6m, compared to £0.7m in the corresponding period last year.

Despite challenges in North America, where the company said it faced exceptional staff issues, Driver returned to profitability in the Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

The company said it remained focused on executing its transformation strategy, emphasising worldwide client services, cost control, margin improvement, and increased utilisation.

Progress was still being made in migrating to a single premium brand, 'Diales', and in nurturing a global pipeline of talent and opportunities.

Financially, Driver Group maintained a robust cash position, with a net cash balance of £4.4m as of 31 March.

That represented a slight decrease from the position reported on 30 September, primarily due to dividend and tax payments, and the planned cessation of a long-standing joint venture agreement in Canada and the Middle East.

"I am pleased to see our strategy delivering improved performance in both Asia-Pacific and the Middle East which have both returned to profit," said chief executive officer Mark Wheeler.

"Management have acted promptly in resolving the challenges in North America, and our UK and European regions continue to perform well.

"I believe the group is therefore well placed to move forward positively into the second half of 2024."

At 1124 BST, shares in Driver Group were down 6.92% at 24.2p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.