The results, published this morning, reveal total revenues over the quarter increased to RMB607.7m (£68m), with online recruitment services revenues rising 19.4% over Q1 2016 to RMB420.1m, gross margin of 73.5% compared with 72.8% in Q1 2016 and income from operations up 29.4% on Q1 2016 to RMB164.4m.

President and CEO Rick Yan said: “2017 is off to an encouraging start with accelerated growth in our online business and improved operating efficiency across the entire organisation. Strengthened by recent product innovations that have received positive feedback from both jobseekers and employers, we saw robust customer acquisition in the first quarter that surpassed our expectations. 

“At the same time, we maintained focus on up-selling initiatives to increase online spend among existing customers, which successfully and largely mitigated the downward effect of new customers on average revenue per employer. With clear and solid execution of our strategic plan, we aim to build on this sales momentum, broaden our coverage and expand our offerings to develop the most complete HR services ecosystem in China.”

In a separate announcement, the firm revealed its board of directors had accepted the resignation of Kazumasa Watanabe due to a change in his professional responsibilities at Recruit Holdings, a principal shareholder of the firm, with Junichi Arai appointed as a director, effective immediately.

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