SThree, primarily an information communication technologies (ICT) recruiter, said it was looking to build on the strong growth it had enjoyed in 2006, with further international expansion.

The firm generated revenue of £393.3m in the year to November 2006, up 24.8% on a year earlier.

The company established its first business, Computer Futures, in 1986. It then adopted a multi-brand strategy. It currently operates 12 brands, the four largest being Computer Futures, Huxley Associates, Progressive and Pathway. SThree has 32 offices in the UK and 11 offices elsewhere in Europe. Last year, Huxley opened an office in New York.

Chief executive Russell Clements told Recruiter he was looking at other US locations such as San Francisco, but "this would be some time in the future".

The company will open offices in Brussels and Rotterdam in the second quarter of this year. It is also looking at Dubai and Hong Kong as potential sites.

Pre-tax profit was £18.1m, up from £12m. The company made 7,865 permanent placements in the year, up 27.6%. Average fees increased by 7.4%. There were 4,719 active contractors at 30 November, up 8.1%. Gross margins are about 34%. Clements said: "We've stayed away from low-margin PSLs [preferred supplier lists]."

The company is now generating more revenue from non-ICT sources, notably banking. Non-ICT now accounts for 18% of the firm's gross profit.

Clements said the group's flotation, in November 2005, had made little difference operationally, but had given it a way of rewarding about 150 staff, who now had equity stakes.

The company said: "The fact that we achieved the growth we did with only limited parts of the business meaningfully engaged outside of our core ICT franchise suggests that we have as yet only seen a small part of the potential that this strategy has to offer. Into 2007 and beyond we expect to see a significant increase in the number of brands actively adding to their portfolios."