International recruiter Hydrogen says it is seeing “modest improvement” across some sectors and “signs of stabilisation” in a pre-close trading update for the financial year ended 31 December 2009.

The statement also says that Hydrogen has seen solid performances in its contract business as well as early signs of increased activity across permanent business in Q4.

It adds that its Australian business has delivered a good performance for the year and has moved to larger premises to accommodate further growth, while in 2009 Hydrogen established a team to target the Singapore market and has opened an office in this region, its first in South-East Asia.

The statement says: “The actions taken during the year, to improve operational efficiency and align our cost base to our trading environment, have delivered benefits. We therefore anticipate that the group’s pre-exceptional profit before tax for the year ended 31 December 2009 will be slightly ahead of market expectations.

“While we remain cautious in our outlook, our flexible model, strong balance sheet and net cash balance at year end of approximately £3m give us confidence that we are well positioned for the year ahead.”