Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (NASD: STAF), a staffing provider operating in the US and UK, reported third-quarter revenue rose 41.7%, which includes $26.9 million from four acquisitions: Clement May and Key Resources Inc. this year, and CBS Butler and Firstpro in 2017.

This was partially offset by a decline of $4.4 million from the divesting of IT staffing firm PeopleServe in June; an organic decline of $1.5 million from the remaining core business; and $61,000 from unfavorable foreign currency translation.

Temporary contractor revenue declined $1.3 million and permanent placement declined $191,000.

Net loss narrowed to $2.0 million from $7.7 million in the year-ago quarter.

Gross margin narrowed to 17.5% from 19.0% in the prior-year period. The company attributed gross profit growth primarily to the impact of acquisitions. This was partly offset by lower savings from workers’ compensation insurance versus the savings realized in the third-quarter of 2017, the divestiture of the lower margin PeopleServe business, and organic decline on lower permanent placement and contract revenue.

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“The Q3 2018 results continue to validate our growth strategy,” Chairman and CEO Brendan Flood said. “Both the number of temporary contractors deployed and the billable hours increased significantly. We are making continuing progress in both growing the company and improving profit margins. Our acquisitions are meaningful and our pipeline continues to be strong. I am confident in our projections to reach profitability in 2019.”

Share price and market cap

Staffing 360 shares were down 3.76% to $1.79 at 10:59 a.m. Eastern time; the company had a market cap of $8.8 million, according to FT.com.