Thu, 23 Jan 2014Joost Kreulen, chief executive of international specialist staffing group Empresaria, says he is “encouraged by the progress of the group”, as the company issues a trading statement ahead of the release of its final results for 2013 on 11 March 2014.

Empresaria says it expects adjusted profit before tax growth of roughly 17% year-on-year, with net fee income marginally below 2012, in line with market expectations.

It says it also expects to see a reduction in reported net debt of around 25% against the previous year.

Kreulen says: “We are encouraged by the progress of the group, with underlying profit growth from all of our reporting regions. We are particularly pleased with the performances in Chile and Singapore, where losses in 2012 have been turned into profits in 2013.

“The restructuring of operating units in Germany has been completed… The business in Germany has been stabilised, is yielding an increase in underlying profitability and is now in a position to benefit from the improving economic conditions in the region.

“We are looking at selective investment opportunities to expand the geographic reach of our operations either by way of investment in existing brands or the acquisition of complementary brands and expect to see continued organic growth from our existing businesses.”