Another profits warning from IT recruitment firm InterQuest (see InterQuest bring knocked from pillar to post) sent its shares down c6% after expected growth in permanent fees from late summer, traditionally InterQuest’s strongest trading period, failed to materialise. InterQuest said that underlying EBITDA for the year will now be c£2.2m (excluding share based payments), and net fee income will show low single digit growth over last year.
InterQuest's warranty claim against the vendors of its CCL, the staffing company it acquired back in 2011, now looks to have been settled for £1m (see here and work back), although InterQuest will net £850k after costs. InterQuest has already written off £2m relating to business impairment, and £600k for revenue owed to CCL. So not the best return. Hopefully this now draws a line through that particular distraction.
InterQuest is going through a restructuring and investment aimed at the medium to long term. This includes setting up its first overseas office in Singapore, and consolidating its financial services businesses into a single group in Canary Wharf. Unfortunately for InterQuest’s shareholders this is at the expense of 2012 profit.