A focus on high growth sectors and companies helped global professional services staffing group Harvey Nash to increase pre-tax profits by 35%.
For the year ended 31 January 2012, profit before tax increased from £6.3m to £8.5m, while revenue climbed 26% to £533m from £422m in the previous 12 months.
Albert Ellis, chief executive of Harvey Nash, tells
Recruiter that the company has benefitted because even in economies such as Ireland, which are not growing, many of Harvey Nash’s clients, such as Accenture, Google and IBM, are still expanding.
Other clients, such as WPP, are seeing strong growth in markets such as Asia.
“Our key success factor is marketshare and focusing on sectors that are growing,” says Ellis.
Ellis says the technology sector is particularly strong. “There is plenty of activity around the mobile market,” he says, be that Smartphone, tablets or the technology associated with mobile payments.
Despite a flat UK economy, the company’s UK and Ireland operating profit rose 19%. In the past year, the company has opened offices in Manchester, the City and in Surrey. “Financial services is weak, although not in decline,” adds Ellis
Growth was particularly strong in Germany and the Nordics, which helped to drive a 59% rise in operating profit in Europe.
Financial highlights:
- Revenue: £533m (up 26% from £422m in previous year)
- Gross profit: £78.5m (up 15% from £68.5m)
- Operating profit: £9.0m (up 41% from £6.4m)
- Profit before tax: £8.5m (up 35% from £6.3m)
- Net cash: £5.2m (down £3.1m from £8.3m)
- Robust demand for flexible labour continues despite uncertainty in the Eurozone
- Non-UK gross profit increasing to 61%
- UK & Ireland with operating profit up 19%
- Germany and the Nordic region drove 59% increase in operating profit from Europe
- Integration of Bjerke & Luther AS in Norway on track
- New offices opened in the UK, China and Australia
- Current trading in line with expectations
