Trading conditions have improved for Garner, the international staffing firm has said in a trading update.

In the six-month interim results to 30 June 2009, announced on 30 September, Garner said it had expected that trading in the first year following its acquisition of Norman Broadbent would be worse than it could have originally anticipated. The company put this down to  the ‘rapid and unexpected deterioration’ in the economy at the start of this year.

The update reported that trading conditions have improved in the second half of the year.

The statement adds: “The order book for the first quarter of 2010 has grown and Norman Broadbent has won `preferred provider’ status with several major FTSE companies. In addition, the cost cutting undertaken in the first half has resulted in the group being able to trade profitably on a monthly basis, with the further benefit that cash outflows experienced earlier this year have been stemmed in recent months.

“Despite this recent improvement, the group’s working capital position remains severely constrained. The group is negotiating the payment of significant Crown liabilities, and the raising of additional funding to fulfil this requirement remains a matter of priority for the group.”