Tech firm Capita sees revenue fall by 27% to £12.1m
NEWTOWNABBEY tech company Capita Managed IT Solutions has said a dip in its 2017 profits was largely down to clients switching to shorter contracts.
The firm, whose managing director is Ed Brown, reported pre-tax profits of £12.1m for the year to December 31, 2017, down 27% on its 2016 performance (£16.8m), with staff also considerably reduced over the year.
Although based in Newtownabbey, the IT company, which is a subsidiary of Capita plc, also operates from offices in Dublin, Glasgow, Birmingham and Hemel Hempstead.
A major IT services organisation delivering cloud, end-to-end IT solutions and IT managed services to thousands of customers, turnover at the firm was down almost £8m last year — dropping from £109.6m in 2016 to £101.9m for 2017.
Capita Managed IT Solutions’ customers includes the Educaout
Managing director: Ed Brown
tion Authority in Northern Ireland, the Department of Justice and Equality in the Republic, Balfour Beatty, Viridian, DVA, AAH and Transport for London.
The company said its revenues were down in 2017 due to some contracts moving into a two-year extension, which it said “did not contain as much investment as in the original five-year contracts”.
The report made public yesterday also disclosed the firm lost on a managed contract deal during 2017, which it said contributed to the reduced revenues.
Staff within Capita Managed Solutions IT also decreased substantially last year.
In its 2016 report, the company put its workforce at 739, including 680 people in sales and operations and 59 in administration. However, that number slipped to 651 in the 12 months to December 2017, with the reduction mainly reflected in sales and operations, which went down to 599 people.
It’s a significant reduction from 2014 when the company announced 400 new jobs, bringing its workforce to 945. It followed the acquisition of Northgate Managed Services in 2013 for £66m.
When approached for a comment yesterday, a Capita spokesperson said: “The revenue for Capita Managed IT Solutions for the year ended December 2017 was in line with our expectations and we remain committed to the Northern Ireland market.”