FINANCIALS: Oliver James grows, SThree declines slightly
6 September 2013
Two results from professional recruiters show that on the whole the industry is holding its own in the changing economic situation.
Fri, 6 Sep 2013Two results from professional recruiters show that on the whole the industry is holding its own in the changing economic situation.
Publicly-listed SThree continued its trend of diversifying its recruitment markets away from the UK, and out of ICT markets. Meanwhile, results filed at Companies House for private firm Oliver James Associates, the top-ranked firm on Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50 list of the UK's fastest-growing recruitment businesses, according to annual sales growth, continued to expand.
Oliver James
Turnover rose by 28% to £46.7m, and gross profit by just under a quarter to £12.9m.
Operating profit increased from £3.4m to £3.6m, resulting in bottom-line profit rising £159k.
Group headcount increased by 24%, and the year also saw the firm expand into oil & gas with the acquisition of Argand Associates in September 2012.
SThree
The firm’s group gross profit for the third quarter of 2013 was down 2% year-on-year but 5% up on Q2, at £49.8m.
The international:UK & Ireland gross profit ratio stood at 31%:69%, compared with the same quarter in 2012, where UK & Ireland business made up 34% of gross profit.
And a similar trend away from ICT disciplines was witnessed, with non-ICT gross profit up from 46% to 48%.
Newer sector disciplines energy and pharma & biotech grew gross profit by 20% and 19% respectively year-on-year, while the strongest geography was the Americas, growing that figure 30%.
Chief executive officer Gary Elden says: “As we enter our final and most significant trading quarter, we are continuing to take a balanced approach - investing selectively in our teams where there are opportunities for growth, focusing on improving productivity and controlling costs tightly where market conditions remain challenging.”
Publicly-listed SThree continued its trend of diversifying its recruitment markets away from the UK, and out of ICT markets. Meanwhile, results filed at Companies House for private firm Oliver James Associates, the top-ranked firm on Recruiter’s 2013 FAST 50 list of the UK's fastest-growing recruitment businesses, according to annual sales growth, continued to expand.
Oliver James
Turnover rose by 28% to £46.7m, and gross profit by just under a quarter to £12.9m.
Operating profit increased from £3.4m to £3.6m, resulting in bottom-line profit rising £159k.
Group headcount increased by 24%, and the year also saw the firm expand into oil & gas with the acquisition of Argand Associates in September 2012.
SThree
The firm’s group gross profit for the third quarter of 2013 was down 2% year-on-year but 5% up on Q2, at £49.8m.
The international:UK & Ireland gross profit ratio stood at 31%:69%, compared with the same quarter in 2012, where UK & Ireland business made up 34% of gross profit.
And a similar trend away from ICT disciplines was witnessed, with non-ICT gross profit up from 46% to 48%.
Newer sector disciplines energy and pharma & biotech grew gross profit by 20% and 19% respectively year-on-year, while the strongest geography was the Americas, growing that figure 30%.
Chief executive officer Gary Elden says: “As we enter our final and most significant trading quarter, we are continuing to take a balanced approach - investing selectively in our teams where there are opportunities for growth, focusing on improving productivity and controlling costs tightly where market conditions remain challenging.”
- Click for yesterday’s City Comment on recruiter.co.uk from Kean Marden for more on strategies at SThree and elsewhere in the recruitment industry.
