27th Jan 2020 09:03
(Alliance News) - Recruiter SThree PLC reported annual profit and revenue growth on Monday despite difficult market conditions.
SThree posted a pretax profit of GBP56.8 million for the year to November-end, 21% higher than the year before. Adjusted pretax profit rose 11% to GBP59.1 million.
The firm's revenue increased by 7% to GBP1.35 billion. Excluding currency movements, revenue was up 6%.
SThree's net fees were 7% higher, and 5% at constant currency, to GBP342.4 million. Contract net fees rose 10% to GBP254.6 million, but permanent fell 1% to GBP87.8 million.
London-headquartered SThree is paying a final dividend of 10.2 pence per share. This takes the annual total to 15.3p, up 6% from the 14.5p returned a year prior.
The company reported "strong" performance in the US, Continental Europe, and Asia-Pacific & Middle East segments. All achieved net fee growth around the 10% mark, with Continental Europe making up over half of group net fees.
However, the UK & Ireland fared less well, delivering a 9% fall in net fees.
"I am pleased to be reporting today on a record year for the group, during which we delivered an adjusted operating profit of GB60.0 million," said Chief Executive Mark Dorman.
"This performance is a result of the hard work delivered throughout the business over the period. Our focus on STEM and flexible working is delivering good overall growth despite a challenging trading background."
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics.
Looking ahead, Dorman said: "We will continue to build our scalable platform. We will continue to invest in our people, data and technology as we execute against our focused strategy as outlined at our recent capital markets day.
"Whilst early in the year, we can see broader macro-economic and political uncertainties may well persist, and the trading environment remains similar to the fourth quarter of 2019. We have the right strategy, are in the right sectors and geographies, and our Contract focus will allow us to drive another year of progress towards our ambitions."
Shares were 0.3% lower on Monday morning in London at 364.25p apiece.
By George Collard; [email protected]
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