Specialist technology staffing company Parity Group (PTY: LSE) reported revenue for the six months ending 30 June 2017 of £42.9 million, a decrease of 7.1% compared with £46.2 million during the same period last year. 

The group stated that its Professional segment was impacted by IR35 changes, particularly the impact on contractor volumes. The group revenue also reflects growth in Consultancy Services which partially mitigated the impact of IR35 changes on Professionals. The group’s profit before tax increase reflected improved business mix and no non-recurring costs in H1 2017.

Parity operates through two divisions, Parity Consultancy Services (Consultancy Services), which provides niche technology and data solutions and Parity Professionals, which specialises in the sourcing of professional staff. Revenue during the period was broken down as follows:

The group added that its strategy is to focus on Consultancy Services’ growth to better align both divisions.

"The company has delivered an encouraging first half performance,” John Conoley, Chairman of Parity Group, said. “This reflects the management team’s clear and deliberate focus on developing the higher margin Parity Consultancy Services division and on aligning our two core divisions more effectively to address our chosen markets.  This has already delivered an improvement in profitability and cash generation as well as a reduction in debt.  In addition, the new sales that have been generated through the period and into the second half further endorse our strategy, leaving us with stronger pipelines in both Divisions.

"Despite the continued impact of IR35 on contractor volumes, the group continues to perform in line with our expectations for the full year with the second half expected to benefit further from our investment in sales and marketing to accelerate growth in our higher margin managed service and data consultancy offerings,” Conoley said. “We, therefore, look forward to making further progress with our focus on continuing to drive profitability, cash flow and shareholder value.”

In trading today, Parity Group PLC  traded at £10.00, down 3.61% on the day and 33.33% above the 52 week low of £7.50 set on 6 Oct 2016. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of £10.60 million.