Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (NASD: STAF), a staffing provider operating in the US and UK, reported first-quarter revenue rose 37.0%, which includes $17.9 million in acquisitions completed in September 2017 and $800,000 in favorable foreign currency translation.

Net loss narrowed to $1.3 million from a net loss of $3.1 million in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin improved to 20.8% from 18.0% in the prior-year period, which the company attributed to exiting low margin business, the acquisition of the two higher-margin businesses, stronger permanent placement business, and improvements in its workers' compensation insurance costs.

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“As we continue to execute on our business plan, we expect to see similar growth in the second quarter and we are confident that 2018, will be a year of profitable enterprisewide growth,” Chairman and CEO Brendan Flood said.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Staffing 360 rose 0.62% to $1.61 as of 12:22 p.m. Eastern time. The company had a market cap of $6.8 million.