Swedish staffing firm Proffice AB (PROEB: SS) reported revenue for the year ending 31 December 2013 of SEK 4.3 billion (€473.7 million), a fall of -12% from SEK 4.9 billion (€539.7 million) last year. However, the company achieved a +14% increase in operating profit, year-on-year, from SEK 110 (€12.1 million) in 2012 to SEK 125 (€13.8 million) in 2013.

In terms of business divisions, Proffice’s temporary agency work division remains its biggest earner, accounting for 94% of company revenue, followed by permanent recruitment with 4%, and outplacement with 2%.

According to Proffice’s annual report, by market share it remained the second biggest staffing firm in Sweden after ManpowerGroup for the second consecutive year. In Norway, Proffice remained the fourth largest staffing firm; behind Adecco Norway, ManpowerGroup, and Jobzone, for the second consecutive year.     

Proffice’s home market remains its largest business segment, contributing 74% to the company’s revenue. Norway, Finland, and Denmark each contributed 22%, 3%, and 1%, respectively.

The Swedish staffing market contracted by -14% to SEK 3.2 billion (€352.5 million) in 2013, down from SEK 3.7 billion (€407.6 million) last year, after a weak start to the year. Northern Sweden was the region with the strongest year-on-year growth, with a rise of +10%. The services industry was the biggest industry segment accounting for 89% of total company revenue in country.

The implementation of the Norwegian Agency Workers Directive at the start of 2013 and the slowdown in the Norwegian economy contributed to a decline of -4.6% in the number of hours worked in the staffing industry. Despite the decrease in the number of hours, revenue rose during the year, indicating a price increase across the staffing industry. Revenue derived from Norway fell by -9% to SEK 998 million (€109.9 million) down from SEK 1.1 billion (€121.2 million) a year ago.   

The Finnish market has been sluggish for several years but there were indications of a slight recovery in late 2013. Proffice’s revenue increased by +74% in Finland to SEK 118 million (€13 million), up from SEK 68 million (€7.5 million) last year. Proffice has a relatively small presence in the Finnish market, but with the creation of Proffice Aviation, which predominately sources flight crews, the company has increased its market share.

Proffice Denmark remains a small player in the Danish staffing industry. In terms of revenue, Proffice reported growth of +111% to SEK 40 million (€4.4 million), up from SEK 19 million (€2.1 million) in 2012.

During 2013, CEO announced that CEO Lars Kry would step down from his position during the first quarter of 2014. He has since been replaced by Henrik Hӧjsgaard. It was also announced yesterday that Proffice is going to strengthen its management team and combine Proffice Life Science with Dfind Engineering to develop the new service and launch it into new markets.

In trading today, the company’s share price rose by +0.9% to SEK 23.10 (€2.54), a rise of +1% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of SEK 1.6 billion (€176.2 million).