Net revenue rose 18.5% in constant currency at Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. (NASD: HSII) in the third quarter, driven in part by higher search confirmations, revenue per executive search and record annualized productivity of $2.0 million per search consultant.

Net income at the Chicago-based executive search provider more than doubled in the third quarter to $16.5 million.

Heidrick reported every region and industry practice contributed to year-over-year growth, with the largest increases in billings in financial services, up 23%, and industrial, up 31%.

The decline in consulting revenue largely reflects the impact of the new revenue recognition accounting on enterprise license agreements, which increased deferred revenue thereby reducing net revenue in the quarter by approximately $900,000, the company reported.

Net revenue by segment and geography

Quote

“We are very pleased to report another quarter of record net revenue, coupled with additional savings in general and administrative expenses, which led to a continued improvement in operating margin, net income and EPS,” President and CEO Krishnan Rajagopalan said. “The third quarter and year-to-date results reflect the hard work of our employees globally and the continued execution of our key 2018 initiatives — to grow our scale and impact with clients, collaborate across business lines to drive revenue, invest in the business to deliver a premium service experience to our clients and improve profitability.”

Guidance

Heidrick forecasts fourth-quarter net revenue of between $170.0 million and $180.0 million, a year-over-year increase of between 0.4% and 6.3%.

Share price and market cap

Heidrick shares were up 29.29% to $37.96 at 10:35 a.m. Pacific time; the company had a market cap of $556.6 million, according to FT.com.