The results, released this morning, reveal full-year 2018 revenue was up 1% – from €23.6bn (£20.1bn) to €23.8bn, with gross profit up 2% from €4.34bn to €4.43bn year-on-year.

For Q4 2018, the group posted revenue of €6.12bn, up from €6.05bn, amid a continued deceleration across most European markets, driven in particular by France, Germany and Italy. The group posted GP of €1.16bn, up from €1.08bn in Q4 2017.

However, a net loss was incurred over the quarter of €112m, compared with a profit of €297m in 2017, which the group attributed to a goodwill impairment of €270m in the quarter in Germany.

Over the full year, Italy was the group’s standout performer, with revenue up 9% year-on-year, while revenues were down 2% for the group’s DACH region (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and its North America, UK & Ireland professional staffing business.

In Q4 2018, the group’s stand-out performer was its Japanese business, which saw revenue climb 6% year-on-year, while its DACH region business saw revenue fall 9% on Q4 2017.

Group CEO Alain Dehaze pointed to a strong performance, despite an increasingly challenging market backdrop in Europe: “While revenues declined by 1%, we outperformed in a number of key regions, including France, US General Staffing and Italy. Underlying profitability also further improved in Q4 2018, building on the positive trend of the prior quarter.

“The GrowTogether programme is scaling up and driving productivity improvements, which supported improved operating margins in most regions in Q4. As we optimise and digitise internal processes, we reduce costs and also increase client and candidate satisfaction, as evidenced by a five-point improvement in NPS [net promotor score] in 2018.

“And we innovated, by adding unique businesses to our portfolio of New Ventures, including General Assembly (up-/re-skilling) and Vettery (digital permanent placement). Combined with the strengths of our existing brands, we are creating a 360˚ service offering to support our customers across the whole HR solutions landscape, online and offline.”

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