The online graduate recruitment company, World Careers Network, has reported that its revenues more than doubled in the financial year ending 31 July 2001.

But the AIM-listed company posted overall losses of £166,000 after it established a presence in Paris.

In a statement released last week, the company also said the recruitment slowdown had damaged its prospects for growth.

An announcement that Hugh Fordham has joined the company as operations director accompanied the news.

Revenues soared from £429,000 in the previous financial year to £1,043,000 this year, according to the results. According to the statement, the slowdown in the recruitment industry has not severely affected the company because its business is focused on a cost-saving online graduate recruitment process.

The company’s list of clients for its online graduate tracking systems now includes ExxonMobil, Merrill Lynch, ABN AMRO and CMS Cameron McKenna.

But a spokesman admitted the slowdown had hindered the company’s growth. ‘In spite of our very rapid growth, undoubtedly we would have grown faster were it not for the slowdown in the economy that has led employers to delay both recruitment decisions and the launch of major new projects,’ he said.

WCN’s Paris office is currently attempting to build a client base in France and has yet to establish a significant presence.