Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. (NASD: STAF), a staffing provider operating in the US and UK, reported preliminary first-quarter results today. And the New York-based firm said revenue grew 37% in the quarter to approximately $55.8 million with help from acquisitions. Staffing 360 expects to file results by May 15.

Revenue includes $17.9 million from its September 2017 acquisitions of Atlanta-based firstPRO Georgia, a US-based company targeting IT staffing and accounting and finance staffing, and CBS Butler Holdings Ltd., a UK-based firm specializing in engineering and IT staffing services. Revenue will also include $600,000 from favorable foreign currency translation, partially offset by the impact of low margin business that the company exited in fiscal 2017.

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

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

“Q1 2018 was another quarter of improved operational and financial performance for STAF 360,” said Chairman and CEO Brendan Flood. “As expected, due to the internal growth initiatives which we put in place at the beginning of the year, in Q1 2018 we grew our revenues, improved our gross profit and substantially decreased our net loss.”

Flood on April 23 wrote a letter to shareholders stating the company’s goals are to achieve 10% organic growth this year and to double its size to $500 million in revenue over the next two years.