TIDMEMR
RNS Number : 8924N
Empresaria Group PLC
26 January 2023
26 January 2023
Empresaria Group plc
("Empresaria" or the "Group")
Trading Update and Notice of Results
Solid net fee income growth with full year profits expected to
be in line with market forecasts
Empresaria (AIM: EMR), the global specialist staffing group,
today provides a trading update for the financial year ended 31
December 2022 ahead of announcing its full year results on 28 March
2023.
Trading update
-- Net fee income up 10% to GBP65.4m (up 8% in constant currency)
-- Adjusted profit before tax and diluted earnings per share
expected to be in line with market expectations
-- Adjusted net debt of GBP7.9m, significantly better than market expectations
-- Very strong performance from APAC and Offshore Services with
net fee income up 75%, outweighing reductions in UK & Europe
and Americas
-- Communicated roadmap to deliver our ambition to double
adjusted operating profit in the medium term
The first half of the year saw greater growth (+15%) reflecting
a strong recovery in client demand particularly for permanent
placements. While solid growth continued into the third quarter,
growth eased in the fourth quarter reflecting a strong prior year
comparative and some reduction in demand from specific clients in
key sectors such as IT.
The Group has continued to invest for the future and
communicated its roadmap to double adjusted operating profit to
GBP20m in the medium term at a capital markets day in October 2022.
The actions outlined remain on track and delivery against this plan
continues to be a key focus.
Financial position
Adjusted net debt has significantly reduced at 31 December 2022
to GBP7.9m, GBP6.1m lower than 31 December 2021 and GBP2.9m lower
than 30 June 2022. This reflects the profits generated by the Group
in the year, along with a reduction in working capital requirements
driven by a move in the weighting of revenue from temporary and
contract to permanent placements. Headroom, excluding invoice
financing, has increased to GBP17.9m.
Performance by sector
Net fee income by sector for the year ended 31 December was as
follows:
% change
(constant
GBPm 2022 2021 % change currency)*
------------------- ------ ------ --------- ------------
UK & Europe 28.4 29.0 -2% -2%
APAC 15.8 14.1 +12% +12%
Americas 8.7 9.9 -12% -19%
Offshore Services 13.5 7.7 +75% +67%
Intragroup (1.0) (1.2) -17% -17%
------------------- ------ ------ --------- ------------
Total 65.4 59.5 +10% +8%
------------------- ------ ------ --------- ------------
* The constant currency movement is calculated by translating
the 2021 results at the 2022 exchange rates.
The UK & Europe saw mixed performances in 2022 with net fee
income falling by 2%. In the UK, net fee income was up by 3% with
strong growth in Professional, driven by increased permanent
placement demand, offset by a weaker performance in IT. In our
blue-collar Commercial businesses in Germany, we saw good recovery
in our logistics operation which returned to growth after a
challenging 2021, however, our temporary business was adversely
impacted by client supply chain issues earlier in the year and
higher sickness levels resulting in net fee income falling year on
year.
In APAC, year-on-year net fee income growth of 12% reflected
strong performances across most of the region with record net fee
income in Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Japan
driven by growth in our Professional and IT sectors. Aviation
failed to improve significantly in 2022, with recovery in our core
Asia market lagging behind that in the US and Europe, reflecting
the continued closure of China throughout 2022 and significant
restrictions on travel to Japan.
In the Americas, net fee income fell by 12% with the main driver
being the expected reduction in Healthcare in the US following an
extremely strong 2021 that was driven by COVID-19 vaccination and
testing related demand. Our US IT business also had a challenging
year, particularly in the second half where our permanent
recruitment offering was impacted by significant technology
lay-offs at key clients.
Offshore Services had a very strong 2022 with net fee income up
75% year-on-year. UK demand, driven by healthcare, remained very
strong and continued to grow throughout the year. The US was more
challenging primarily driven by reduced demand from the IT
sector.
Rhona Driggs, CEO of Empresaria, commented:
"We are pleased with our overall progress and performance in the
year. As we move into 2023, we look ahead with some caution given
the wider economic environment, however, we are continuing to see
strong demand in many of our markets largely driven by ongoing
skills and labour shortages.
The transformation of the Group in recent years, along with the
proven benefits from our diversification by geography and sector,
improves our resilience and provides us with a strong foundation
for growth. Executing our 'Roadmap to GBP20m' remains our key focus
and we are confident we are well placed to deliver on our
medium-term ambition to double our adjusted operating profit."
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the UK version of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (2014/596) which
is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018, as amended and supplemented from time to time.
- Ends -
Enquiries:
Empresaria Group plc via Alma PR
Rhona Driggs, Chief Executive Officer
Tim Anderson, Chief Financial Officer
Singer Capital Markets (Nominated
Adviser and Broker)
Shaun Dobson / James Moat 020 7496 3000
Cenkos Securities plc (Joint Broker)
Katy Birkin / Charlie Combe (Corporate
Finance)
Michael Johnson / Jasper Berry (Sales) 020 7397 3900
Alma PR (Financial PR) 020 3405 0205
Sam Modlin empresaria@almapr.com
Hilary Buchanan
Pippa Crabtree
Notes for editors:
-- Empresaria Group plc is a global specialist staffing group.
We are driven by our purpose to positively impact the lives of
people, while delivering exceptional talent to our clients
globally. We offer temporary and contract recruitment, permanent
recruitment and offshore services across six sectors: Professional,
IT, Healthcare, Property, Construction & Engineering,
Commercial and Offshore Services.
-- Empresaria is structured in four regions (UK & Europe,
APAC, Americas and Offshore Services) and operates from locations
across the world including the four largest staffing markets of the
US, Japan, UK and Germany along with a strong presence elsewhere in
Asia Pacific and Latin America.
-- Empresaria is listed on AIM under ticker EMR. For more
information visit empresaria.com.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTFLFIALRIEFIV
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 26, 2023 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Empresaria (LSE:EMR)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Feb 2023 a Mar 2023
Empresaria (LSE:EMR)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Mar 2022 a Mar 2023
