Mouchel warns of impact from government’s cuts
Outsourcing and consulting firm Mouchel yesterday slumped to a full-year loss and warned of an uncertain outlook due to government austerity measures, wiping more than a quarter off its stock market value.
Mouchel, which helps the government maintain highways and provides consultancy to local authorities, had already this month warned its full-year results would not meet analyst expectations.
The group yesterday posted a £14.7m pre-tax loss for the year through July after taking £45.2m in exceptional items, on revenue which fell 15 per cent to £632m.
Underlying pre-tax profit before tax and one-offs dropped 24 per cent to £30.5m, in line with what the company said earlier this month it expected.
Mouchel, which also said it would skip its final dividend to save resources and help reduce its debt, said it would take a cautious approach to the year ahead in light of budget cuts.