Logica profits slump in 'much more difficult' 2011

Logica said its 2012 revenues could go up or down as it turned in full year 2011 figures that showed a massive drop in profits.

The services giant reported full year consolidated revenues of £3.92bn for the year to December 31, up 6 per cent on the year. Consolidated pre-tax profits were £32.7m, a dramatic fall on the previous year's £192.9m.

The final figures were in line with the forecast it issued back in December, when it also unveiled a wide-ranging restructuring programme, which it predicted would result in charges of £93m covering 1,300 job losses and property changes.

The company emphasised today that "underlying profit" was £247m, compared to the previous year's £278m. The public sector in particular blew a hole in the firm's numbers, with revenues down 3 per cent. This undermined Logica's 7 per cent climb in commercial revenues.

Consulting and professional services were flat over the year at £2.19bn while outsourcing revenue was up 9 per cent to £1.8bn.

CEO Andy Green said "2011 was a more difficult year than we had expected".

As for 2012, he said: "The revenue outlook remains uncertain but we are on track in implementing the actions we announced in December... Even in tough market conditions we expect our full year operating margin for 2012 to be above 6.5 per cent."

Group orders were £4.63bn for the full year, compared to £3.97bn for the previous year, with a number of large deals signed in both the first and last quarters.

The firm said "we continue to cautious about the economic outlook in our main markets and our guidance for 2012 remains unchanged, with revenue growth expected to be in the range of -2 per cent to +2 per cent". ®