Revenue fell 1.4% in constant currency at professional staffing provider Resources Connection Inc. (NASD: RECN) in its fiscal first quarter ended Aug. 26. The Irvine, Calif.-based firm operates as Resources Global Professionals; finance/accounting and IT rank among its top staffing segments.

Gross margin held steady, but net income fell.

First-quarter US revenue fell 2.2%, primarily affected by ongoing weakness in the Tri-State area, according to the company.

International revenue edged up 1.8% in constant currency; the increase was 1.1% on a reported basis.

The company is implementing strategic initiatives to contain costs and drive revenue growth, and took a charge of approximately $1.4 million related to severance expenses. It also incurred approximately $700,000 in costs related to its acquisition of a German professional services firm called “taskforce - Management on Demand AG.” The transaction included initial consideration of €6.0 million (approximately $7.1 million) in a combination of cash and restricted stock, plus an earn-out based on performance in calendar years 2017, 2018 and 2019.

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“The revenue decline flattened in the last month of the quarter and we are seeing this trend continue,” said President and CEO Kate Duchene. “We have started to see real revenue improvement in the North America business in the second quarter, with weekly revenue up year over year the past four weeks. Revenue trends in Europe are also strong, providing a nice platform to welcome our recent acquisition, taskforce – Management on Demand AG in Germany.”

Share price and market cap

Shares in Resources Connection rose 6.7% in early afternoon trading today to $15.20, and the company had a market cap of $454.5 million, according to Google.