Personal Group confident in long-term outlook after 'solid' first half

Employee services provider Personal Group said it had a "solid" start to the year, with trading in line with management's expectations, although it did not provide any figures.

Personal Group's technology salary sacrifice business saw revenues come in ahead of last year, while its recent acquisition of pay and reward consultancy Innecto also boosted its bottom line.

The AIM-listed firm's core insurance business continued to "perform well" in the period, however, it noted that new sales had been slower than expected as it was still in the process of growing its sales team.

Looking forward, Personal said the market for employee benefits remained strong, with companies across the UK under pressure to attract and retain the right employees in order to improve productivity.

Chief executive Deborah Frost said: "Personal Group has performed in line with management's expectations during the first half of the year.

"The board remains confident in the long-term outlook for the company and will, as planned, provide an update on strategy at the time of the announcement of the half-year results in September."

As of 1110 BST, Personal Group shares had dipped 0.75% to 398p.