Capita plc
On 31 January 2018, the Capita plc suffered a 40% drop in their share price after it issued a surprise profit warning. The group’s net worth fell to £1.3 billion, only slightly more than their estimated debt of £1.15bn.
Coming just a fortnight after the liquidation of Carillion, the latest shock down-turn in the fortunes of a major outsourcing company was accompanied by confirmation from Capita that it was undergoing a ‘transformation programme’ to try to avoid a similar fate.
With shares falling to just 190p each, their lowest level since January 2003, the group warned that underlying profits in 2018 were likely to be £270-300m; a long way from the £406m predicted by City analysts.
Capita's public sector contracts include; running London’s congestion charge scheme, operating and promoting the Gas Safe scheme, running a number of government helplines and the auto-enrolment of staff into workplace pension schemes. Capita employs around 70,000 people in the UK.
CEO Jonathan Lewis unveiled a radical overhaul of Capita’s finances, saying that the group’s operations had become ‘too complex’ and had placed ‘too much emphasis on acquisitions to drive growth’.
The overhaul includes; a £700m rights issue, the suspension of shareholder dividend payments, the disposal of non-core assets, cost-cutting and the sale of Constructionline, a provider of procurement and supply chain management services to the construction industry, which Capita purchased from the government in 2015 for £35m.
Capita Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Lewis said; “An immediate priority is to strengthen the balance sheet through a combination of cost savings, non-core disposals and new equity. We have identified a small number of quality businesses that do not fit with our core skills for which there will be better owners and a process to maximise value will commence shortly.”
[edit] Find out more
[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki
Featured articles and news
Not buildings. Happy holiday from DB.
Future Homes Standard: Industry calls for more ambition
As the Government FHS consultation finally closes.
Improving government projects with data and AI
Enabling better outcomes, efficient modern delivery and influential leadership on government projects.
BSRIA Living Laboratory Innovation Challenge
Final days for submission, closing March 29.
Windows, their frames, forms, factors and functions.
The hidden subtleties of U-Value calculations
Different contexts and what to include as variables.
A brief run down with related articles.
Electrical sector calls for safer public EV charge points
Serious concerns about electrical safety in the public domain.
Building Blocks manifesto presented to parliament
Architects Declare call in for support of five critical policies.
The four elements of project management with APM
Analysis, expectations, collaborative communication and partnerships.
City of London launches Heritage Building Retrofit Toolkit
Empowering owners to initiate necessary adaptations.
Guidance on RAAC in listed buildings
Published by Purcell, endorsed by IHBC, SPAB and C20.
Learning from the past.
Reluctance to hire people with criminal convictions revealed
Employing People with Criminal Convictions Report.
Tackling unconscious bias; Women's History Month
Personal reflections, as the last week of March approaches.