Mitie Group
Revenue £1.12bn Dividend 5.4p
Mitie — more than any other outsourcer, I suspect — has always had its detractors in the market. The bad slip-up on the healthcare side, a business that was supposed to be the engine of future growth, has only increased their suspicions.
The concern has been that Mitie relies on a large number of not terribly well-paid workers, and the introduction of the national living wage was always going to be a negative. The company insists it is a good thing, boosting staff morale and reliability, but it will be a while before the truth of this is known.
That said, yesterday’s 29¼p fall in the share price to 302¾p looks like an over-reaction. A first-half loss in healthcare