Staffline Recruitment Group, the specialist supplier of primarily blue-collar temporary and contract staff to industry, has reported a big leap in pre-tax profits for 2005 following the opening of 18 OnSites, outsourced human resource functions, over the course of the year.

Pre-tax profits for the group, which was formed in 1986, rose from £500,000 in 2004 to £2.5m in 2005, while sales revenue rose from £49m in 2004 to £61.5m in 2005.

Shareholders can expect a total dividend for the year of 1.9p per share. This is the first time the company has paid a dividend.

Norwegian recruiter StepStone Online reported revenue of €10.1m (£7m) for the last three months of 2005, up 81% on a year earlier.

Customers signing new or renewed contracts during the quarter included Manpower, Citibank, AXA, Nestlé, and Fortis.