WYG hails milestone on the road to recovery

The Leeds-based firm said it is confident that operating profit for the full year will be 10 per cent ahead of market expectations.

This will result in a return to pre-tax profit despite lower annual revenues.

Analyst Nick Spoliar at WH Ireland said: “With a good update, numbers in the market for the year just completing have been raised to EBITA of £1.7m and adjusted pre-tax profits of £300,000.

“The upgrade is small in absolute terms, but continues the momentum set by the return to profit at the half year and better than expected outcomes on legacy costs in the autumn.”

In the UK, where the market continues to be challenging, WYG said the business appears to be stabilising.

In overseas markets, the group said it has reduced its reliance on EU donor-funded work and added significant new clients and projects.

Paul Hamer, WYG’s chief executive, said: “Having announced the group’s return to operating profit in November, we are very pleased to see that the positive progress in the half year has continued in the second half, enabling us to report on another milestone for the group: an expected return to profit at the pre-tax level.”

The group will announce results for the year to March 31 on June 4.