RM says schools still buying its boxes

Cuts won't affect growth, says IT supplier

RM, which sells to schools, said sales for the year ended 30 September were up 10 per cent on last year, and profits grew 12 per cent.

Revenue was up from £346.9m in 2009 to £380.1m in 2010 and profit was up from £17.7m in 2009 to £19.9m this year.

RM shares were up over five per cent in response to the third successive year of growth.

Although the company is dependent on government spending, it remains confident of future growth.

Terry Sweeney, chief executive of RM, said: “Looking ahead, clearly the UK public sector is in a period of significant funding and policy change. However, the overall funding environment for schools is better than many anticipated and shows modest real-terms growth over the next four years."

Committed revenue is down - because of the coalition government's review of the school building programme.

RM said it is continuing to expand in the US, which has a relatively undeveloped education tech market - only 36 per cent of classrooms have interactive whiteboards, for instance, versus 77 per cent in the UK.

It is also active in Australia where the market is similarly undeveloped. Revenue in Asia-Pacific, mostly Australia, was up 20 per cent on last year. ®