DWS net profit sinks again, more jobs cut

National services provider DWS has revealed a 19 percent drop in net profit and job cuts in three states during the 2015 financial year.

After the "difficult" 2014 results, the company has arrested the slide somewhat, holding revenue steady at $94.6 million, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation down $2.3 million to $15.9 million.

The company enjoyed a net profit of $10.4 million, down from 2014's $12.9 million.

DWS continued to cut jobs in 2015 to seek cost savings. Victoria – hosting half its staff – as well as Western Australia and the ACT all copped headcount reductions.

Excluding the 44 consultants that came on board from the Symplicit acquisition in June, DWS brought down the size of its consultant workforce from 490 to 473 during the 2015 financial year. In 2014, the team was reduced from 535 to 490.

The terminations cost $518,000 over the course of the year.

In a presentation to the ASX, the company stated that the growth strategy of diversifying its offerings and "expanding customer touch points" would continue "through acquisition activity and organic expansion".

DWS highlighted the fourth-quarter performance as an indicator it was on an upward curve.

"Financial performance of the core business turned around in Q4 of financial year 2015 due to a strong focus on utilisation and efficiency," announced the company.

DWS has had an eventful 12 months. Chief executive Lachlan Armstrong resigned in April after just one year in the job and nine years at the company. As well as Symplicit, the Melbourne-headquartered DWS last week spent $19.5 million to acquire Phoenix IT – a 200-staff company with $34-40 million of yearly revenue.

Symplicit is a digital and user experience consultancy, while Phoenix brings business and IT consulting capabilities. DWS was established in 1991 by Danny Wallis, who is now serving as both chairperson and chief executive officer. The company has traditionally targeted the enterprise market with Microsoft, IBM and AWS technologies.