French recruitment firm Groupe Crit (CEN: FP) reported revenue for the six months ending 30 June 2014 of €791.7 million, an increase of +9.1% compared with €725.6 million during the same period last year.

Operating income for the six-month period rose by +28.1% to €32.2 million, up from €25.2 million a year ago. Net income for the period increased strongly by +52.1%, rising from €16.4 million last year to €24.9 million this year.

International revenue increased by +23% to €171.5 million, accounting for 21.7% of Group revenue during H1 2014.

Revenue from temporary and permanent recruitment, which accounts for 83.6% of total revenue, increased by +10.4% to €661.7 million. A stable French market reported revenue growth of +6.4% to €511 million.

Recruitment revenue from the Group’s International operations rose by more than +26% to €150.7 million, with year-on-year net sales growth of +39% in Spain and +29.1% in the United States.   

The company also provides airport services and engineering & maintenance services. Revenue for these operations rose by +2.5% during the six-month period to €139.3 million, compared with last year.

In France, the Group is confident, following high levels of activity in July and August, that growth will continue in the coming months and the company will continue to outperform the challenging market.

Internationally, the second half of the year began with the acquisition of US-based recruitment firm Actium Consulting. Groupe Crit believes that the integration of the new company will enable to Group to exceed its goal of achieving annual revenue of USD 300 million in the United States. In Spain, the steady growth noted in the past few months is expected to continue.

Groupe Crit has invested heavily in the United States over the past couple of years and has revealed ambitions to further increase their market share. The company’s most recent acquisition, before Actium Consulting, was in February 2014.   

In trading today, the company’s share price decreased by -0.4% to €48.11, an increase of +108.8% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of €555.8 million.