Telecoms and technical recruiter Networkers International has slightly exceeded its expectations for the calendar year 2012, although its telco mainstay declined slightly.

Group-wide net fee income grew 1.6% to £30.79m, ahead of the expected £30.3m seen least year by the staffing firm. Permanent net fee income (NFI) grew by 19.5% over the year, slightly ahead of expectations, more than offsetting a 2.8% drop in contract fees.

Contract NFI in the telecoms segment that made up 56% of Networkers’ business (down from 59% in 2011) dropped by 4.2%, while permanent hiring remained level.

Growth was seen in the IT divisions, driven by permanent hiring, with IT now representing 36% of the group, up from 33% in 2011, while the small energy & engineering division continued to grow at double-digit rates.

The group recently opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil and now has 14 offices in 10 countries. The full results are available from the recruiter’s website.