PEO revenue rose 10% at ADP (NASD: ADP) in the company’s fiscal third quarter ended March 31, driven primarily by a 9% increase in average worksite employees for the quarter.

Roseland, NJ-based ADP provides other services, including paycheck processing. Total revenue rose 8% to $3.69 billion in the third quarter; the increase was 6% on an organic, constant currency basis.

Average worksite employees paid by PEO services were about 512,000, up from 471,000 in Q3 last year.

ADP acquired freelancer management system WorkMarket in a deal that closed Jan. 19. Founded in 2010, New York-based WorkMarket was backed by venture firms including Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital; it raised $25 million in April 2017 from Accenture and Foundry Group.

On March 1, ADP announced that it is offering a voluntary early retirement program to certain eligible US-based associates in support of ongoing transformation initiatives. The company anticipates recording a special termination charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018, and expects this initiative to help reduce its pre-tax operating expenses starting in early fiscal 2019.

Quote

“I am pleased with our successful results this quarter and with the continued signs of improvement in some of our key performance indicators such as our new business bookings, which grew 9%, and our Employer Services retention, which improved 170 basis points,” said President and CEO Carlos Rodriguez. “Our results reflect the fundamental strength of our business model, and demonstrate that our strategy to drive sustainable long-term growth is working.”

Guidance

For its full 2018 fiscal year, ADP now forecasts its PEO services revenue to rise approximately 12%, compared to its prior forecast of 12% to 13%.

Share price and market cap

Shares in ADP edged up 1.51% to $120.59 as of 12.14 p.m. Eastern time. The company had a market cap of approximately $53.46 billion.