Penna Consulting reported a pre-tax profit of £572,000 for the year to 31 March, down from £2.59m a year earlier.

Having reported a loss for the first half of its financial year, the company said it returned to profit in the second half.

For the year, revenue at Career Transition fell to £16.3m from £19.2m. This division, Penna’s biggest, specialises in outplacement, providing services to people who have been made redundant. The company had previously warned of problems in this division due to fewer redundancies being made in the City of London.

Stephen Rowlinson (pictured), chairman, said: “The Group is well placed to take advantage of any improvement in the outplacement market and our other businesses are expected to continue their growth.'