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View All NewsSThree gross profit up 4% in fiscal Q3 because of international growth
SThree plc — a UK-based staffing firm specializing in science, technology, engineering and mathematics roles — reported net fees (gross profit) rose 4% on a constant currency basis in its fiscal third quarter ended Aug. 31.
International markets led growth at the firm with US gross profit up 5% and Japan gross profit up 82%. Gross profit in Continental Europe was up 5%.
Temporary staffing gross profit rose while permanent placement gross profit fell.
Gross profit by contract and permanent
| (£ millions) | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | % constant currency change | Q3 2019 (US$ millions) |
| Contract | £66.0 | £60.4 | 7% | $80.3 |
| Permanent | £21.8 | £22.3 | -5% | $26.5 |
| Total | £87.8 | £82.7 | 4% | $106.9 |
“Whilst we remain cognizant of significant macro market uncertainties, we remain confident that we have the right niche focus, vision and teams to deliver continued growth, and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged,” Chief Executive Mark Dorman said.
However, UK and Ireland gross profit was down 7% amid what the company said was a challenging macroeconomic backdrop.
Gross profit by geography
| (£ millions) | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | % constant currency change | Q3 2019 (US$ millions) |
| Continental Europe | £50.1 | £47.0 | 5% | $61.0 |
| US | £20.4 | £18.2 | 5% | $24.8 |
| UK and Ireland | £12.1 | £13.0 | -7% | $14.7 |
| Asia Pacific and Middle East | £5.2 | £4.5 | 14% | $6.3 |
| Total | £87.8 | £82.7 | 4% | $106.9 |
By segment served, technology and energy gross profit rose the fastest while gross profit from banking and finance fell.
Gross profit by segment
| (£ millions) | Q3 2019 | Q3 2018 | % constant currency change | Q3 2019 (US$ millions) |
| Technology | £39.4 | £35.9 | 8% | $48.0 |
| Life sciences | £17.7 | £17.4 | 2% | $21.5 |
| Banking and finance | £9.4 | £10.5 | -12% | $11.4 |
| Energy | £10.2 | £9.3 | 8% | $12.4 |
| Engineering | £8.6 | £8.0 | 6% | $10.5 |
| Other | £2.5 | £1.6 | 5% | $3.0 |
| Total | £87.8 | £82.7 | 4% | $106.9 |
Share price and market cap
Shares in SThree closed up 2.56% on Friday to £301.00 in London; the company had a market cap of £385.9 million, according to FT.com.
Editor’s Note: SThree of the UK and Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3), based in Detroit, are unrelated companies.