RM 'insulated' from credit crunch - boss

2:52pm Monday 12th May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

The top boss at an Oxfordshire information technology giant RM has revealed the business is unlikely to be affected by the credit crunch.

Tim Pearson, chief executive of the firm based at Milton Park near Didcot, said that the firm's core market of supplying IT to schools meant that its business was "insulated" from the global financial crisis.

He added: "Our share price has held up well and is now seen as a defensive stock by investors because it is not affected by aspects of the credit crunch."

The firm revealed it had made an adjusted pre-tax profit of £0.6m for the six months to March 31 compared to £2.2m for the same period last year.

But Mr Pearson said this was the result of the firm spending more money on the Building Schools for the Future programme and a further £500,000 on bidding for a large contract from Autralian firm Ultranet.

Also, education is seasonal with the majority of business conducted in the second half of the year in line with school budgets.

RM was founded by Mr Pearson in 1973 and has grown to be one of the largest employers in Oxfordshire, with 1,300 staff at Milton Park and 2,300 across the world.

Turnover has grown from £100m to £380m in the last six years and RM has been increasing its international presence, particulary in the United States. It recently opened an office in New Zealand.