FDM Group, a UK-based staffing firm that operates on the recruit-train-deploy model, reported softer trading conditions in its geographies, which includes the US. Uncertainty in the banking sector has delayed some client decisions, Chairman David Lister said in a statement released prior to FDM’s annual meeting today.

“The group traded in line with the board’s expectations during the first three months of the financial year,” Lister said. “Ongoing global macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty, including in particular the well-reported recent issues in the banking and finance sector, have resulted in softer trading across our operating territories in the second quarter. None of the group’s clients has been directly impacted by the issues that have affected a limited number of banking institutions, but the current uncertainty in the sector as a whole is delaying some client decisions around consultant placements.”

He continued, “levels of client engagement however remain encouraging, and the board is optimistic that confidence in the banking and finance sector will improve across its markets through the second half of the financial year.”

Lister said the company is adjusting its recruitment and training to ensure alignment of supply with current demand for its consultants. The board’s expectations for the group’s financial performance for the year are unchanged.

FDM had 4,774 consultants as of April 30, up from 4,429 as of April 30, 2022.

Share price and market cap

Shares in FDM Group hit a new 52-week low in trading today in London when they reached £573.00 (US$716.07), according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of £713.6 million (US$891.7 million).