Improved business conditions contributed to a 13% rise in revenue at international staffing company Adecco in Q2.

Its results reveal:

• worldwide revenues rose to €4.6bn (£3.83bn)
• revenue from Adecco’s permanent business rose 27% to €77m
• EBITA (earnings before interest tax and amortisation) was €168m, compared with €32m in Q2 in 2009.

While revenues from Adecco’s UK & Ireland business increased by 84% in constant currency terms to €411m, after excluding the effect of currency changes, revenue declined by 3%.

Commenting on the results, Patrick De Maeseneire, chief executive of the Adecco Group, says: “Business conditions in Q2 2010 improved considerably.

“We delivered strong growth in our main markets France and North America. Also Germany, Italy, Nordics and the emerging markets posted strong double-digit revenue growth. Demand was particularly strong in the industrial segment, but also our professional staffing business returned to growth in the second quarter.

“As expected, pricing in the temporary staffing business is stabilising and we achieved a gross margin of 17.8% in Q2 2010, thanks to continued strict price discipline and our increased exposure to professional staffing. Costs were tightly controlled in Q2 2010 and remained flat organically and adjusted. As a result, we achieved an EBITA margin before integration costs of 3.8%, an improvement of 100 bps compared to the adjusted prior year.

“To date, we see no evidence of a slowdown in our business and demand is robust across most markets. Revenue growth in June was approximately 16%, organically and adjusted for trading days. While keeping a tight grip on costs and pricing, we are very well positioned to take advantage of the current growth opportunities.”