The results, out this morning, reveal Q2 2017 revenues of €5,972m (£5,388m) from €5,696m, up 5% year-on-year, and H1 2017 revenue of €11,702m from €11,028m in the previous year, an increase of 6%.

The group also saw gross profit increase to €1,091m up from €1,071m in Q2 2017 and to €2,169m up from €2,082m in H1 2017.

Within the group’s UK & Ireland general staffing business Q2 revenues rose 8% year-on-year, buoyed by strong growth for the group’s retail and in local government divisions.

However, the group’s UK professional staffing business saw Q2 revenues fall 6% caused by declines within the group’s IT and finance & legal business. 

Commenting on the results, group CEO Alain Dehaze pointed to “robust” revenue growth: “Our performance continued: revenue growth was robust, driven in particular by strength in France, Italy, Iberia and Benelux. We maintained our focus on productivity, with an increase of only 1% in FTE [full-time equivalent] employees to deliver 6% underlying revenue growth, and cash conversion was again strong.

“Alongside driving our performance, we are continuing to transform and innovate to capture the opportunities we see in our markets. We are investing in IT infrastructure and digital innovation: we signed a new global partnership agreement with Mya Systems, a leading AI player in HR tech; we launched our digital Active Placement model in Lee Hecht Harrison; and we commenced the rollout in the UK of Adia, our end-to-end online staffing platform.”

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