Serco bullish on outlook
OUTSOURCING giant company Serco posted a 21 per cent increase in half-year pre-tax profit and said government spending cuts would boost sales in areas where outsourcers would be hired to achieve savings.
Serco, which runs Boris Johnson’s new cycle hire scheme, said yesterday pre-tax profit for the first half to 30 June was £101.4m, against £83.4m last year.
Support services companies with significant exposure to government contracts are bracing for Downing Street’s October Spending Review, which will outline the extent of the coalition’s drive to cut public spending.
Serco said it and other companies used by the government were in talks with government officials about how to help achieve its cuts.
“[The coalition government] have called us in to say ‘where can we save money?’ We see Serco as a big partner to government, we still see them as a very strong customer, they still see us as a very strong supplier,” chief executive Christopher Hyman said yesterday.