InterQuest Group (AIM: ITQ)– Trading update disappoints but shares rebound
The Specialist IT Recruitment Group, issued a mixed trading update yesterday for the six months ended 30th June 2012, leading to a substantial fall in the share price.
The statement highlights varied performance set against a tough market backdrop in the banking and finance sectors, which represents 27% of Net Fee Income (‘NFI’). However, the Group has shown promising results in non banking and finance sectors, resulting in NFI up approximately 6% and an improvement in gross margin to 14.9% from 13.2% in H1 2011. In addition, the Group benefits from a sensible mix of both permanent and contractor based revenue streams, with 20% growth in permanent recruitment fees from H1 2011 and an encouraging improvement in contract recruitment margins to 11.5% from 10.5% in H1 2011. ITQ…