The world's largest staffing firm Adecco said it was "cautiously optimistic" about its prospects for 2005 as it announced its results for the third quarter of 2004.

Net income dropped 2% to EUR102m (£71m), while operating income was up 7% to EUR174m (£122m) on revenues that were up 5% at EUR4.5bn (£3.1bn), indicating that it has recovered from its auditing problems.

The costs associated with the financial reporting delay were EUR3m (£2m) in the third quarter, part of the total EUR100m (£70bn) cost to the firm of the accounting probe.

Adecco Staffing, the temporary division, increased year-on-year sales by 7% to EUR4bn (£2.8bn), accounting for 89% of the group's revenue.

Adecco's chief executive officer Jérôme Caille said: "These are solid results. We are cautiously optimistic about our prospects for 2005."