Capita braced for revenue decline in Technology Solutions arm

Outsourcer's share price plummets 14 per cent

Capita expects revenue in its Technology Solutions arm to plummet 15 per cent in the first half of its fiscal year.

In a trading update, the outsourcing giant said its total revenue would also be down 10 per cent, five per cent of which is a direct result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Capita however said that it has implemented cost savings of £45m to "mitigate the financial impact".

Jon Lewis, CEO at Capita, said: "Capita and its people have, like thousands of other businesses, faced numerous challenges and uncertainties over the past three months.

"But, thanks to the hard work and professionalism of our colleagues, we have delivered a strong operational response to the COVID-19 crisis. This has only been possible due to the actions we have taken over the past two years to simplify and strengthen the organisation - to rebuild trust with clients, fix legacy issues, improve contract execution, invest in our people, improve systems and controls, reduce risk and cut cost.

"We have implemented cost and cash preservation initiatives to mitigate the financial impact of COVID-19, while liquidity remains strong, and cash generation from operations has improved significantly compared with 2019."

Capita said that transactional business in its Technology Solutions business has been impacted by COVID-19, but said that the unit has seen an increased demand for automation services.

It said that revenue in this division will be down £35m in the half. Sales in the same half last year were £224.2m.

A £24m contract win to implement Transport for London's emergency services network was highlighted as a key win.

Last week Capita announced the sale of its Eclipse Legal Systems business to Access UK for £56.5m. It also plans to offload its education software business.

The firm's share price fell 14 per cent today.