Recruitment firm Staffline expects to beat forecasts as end of furlough to boost training unit
Recruitment firm Staffline said this morning it expects its financial results for this financial year to be ahead of forecasts as the employment market bounces back after the latest lockdown.
The company said it anticipates that it will benefit from the end of the furlough scheme, as people search for new jobs and training courses, as it reported a sharp increase in profit in the first quarter of the year.
Staffline said this morning that it is “seeing a stronger recruitment pipeline developing”, and that its Peopleplus division – an adult skills and training provider – will benefit from a government spending increase following the end of the furlough scheme.
In the three months ended 31 March, the recruiter said revenue increased 0.2 per cent to £227.9m, while gross profit dipped 6.1 per cent to £18.4m.
However, underlying operating profit was up 133 per cent to £1.4m.
Staffline also updated the market on last year’s financial performance, saying revenue levels fell from £1.06bn in 2019 to £928m in 2020.
Underlying operating profit for the year was around £4.8m, up from £2.9m in the previous year, which was ahead of expectations.
Staffline chief executive Albert Ellis said: “”There is no question that 2020 was one of the most challenging periods for both industry and commerce globally, but I’m delighted with the resilience demonstrated by our business. We’ve yet to be fully released from the constraints of the Covid-19 restrictions but we have already seen positive signs of recovery as we exited the first quarter of 2021.
“We have made significant progress restructuring our core business, much of which was completed in 2020, and we are now well-placed to capitalise on a number of exciting growth opportunities. Our market leading positions across food distribution, retail, e-commerce and the logistics markets have supported our recovery. As other parts of the UK economy begin to re-emerge, I am extremely confident in our ability to build on the momentum from the start of the year.”