Dutch recruiter USG People has seen year-on-year revenue increase 13.2%, buoyed by a strong performance from its Netherlands and Belgium business.

The group’s Q1 results, published this morning, reveal revenue rose to €646.1m (£504m) from €570.7m in Q1 2015, with revenue per working day up 13.4%.

Commenting on the group’s results chief executive Rob Zandbergen said growth continued to strengthen, particularly in the markets that are most important to the group such as the Netherlands and Belgium, where it “amply outperformed” the market. 

He added that the group was also able to maintain its edge in the French market, while growth in Germany was slower than in the other regions. 

“Much of the growth came from our volume clients who are expanding their capacity and structuring it more flexibly, enabling us to keep the costs virtually stable amid high growth,” Zandbergen said.

“Despite the impact of the early Easter weekend, which fell in the first quarter this year, we were able to further improve our results. We achieved an incremental conversion rate of 56% on the gross margin and EBITA, while net income increased by 26%. The focus for the coming quarters will also be on accelerating revenue growth in the SME segment.”

USG People’s results at a glance:

• Revenue rose 13.2% to €646.1m (Q1 2015: €570.7m); revenue per working day up 13.4%
• Growth in revenue per working day in the Netherlands accelerated to 17.2% (growth in Q4 2015: 13.2%)
• Underlying expense ratio improved to 15.7% (Q1 2015: 17.6%)
• Underlying EBITA grew 8.9% to €18.4m (Q1 2015: € 16.9m)
• Underlying net income increased 26.4% to €11.5m (Q1 2015: €9.1m)