Saudi Arabia-based recruitment firm Maharah Human Resources published its annual results last week which showed revenue of SAR 1.89 billion (USD 503.8 million) for the full year 2023, up 12.26% when compared to the prior year.

Gross profit rose by 2.83%.

The company said revenue growth was supported by improvements in revenue in some of its main sectors, including the corporate segment and hourly services segment, which increased by 22% and 14% respectively compared to the previous year boosted by strategic contracts in the corporate segment.

Permanent Services revenue declined by 15% compared to the previous year. This sector faced challenges throughout the year due to the implementation of price ceilings for individual services in accordance with regulations, which led to a decrease in the average price per workforce, and due to the temporary suspension in recruitment from Indonesia as a result of changes of workforce regulations, which were lifted at the beginning of 2024. Additionally, there was an 18% decrease in facility management revenues due to the restructuring of unprofitable contracts.

Amid the temporary suspension of recruitment from Indonesia since Q2 2023, Maharah focused on part-time labour with a target to increase the number of Filipino workers, which was reflected in H2 2023, when revenue from the part-time labour grew by 17%.

Maharah Human Resources said the corporate sector achieved an increase of 22% in gross profit compared to the previous year. However, the overall profit margin was negatively affected by the results of the individual segment, and the facility management, logistics, and home healthcare, leading the company to record a net increase in gross profit of only 2.8% compared to previous year.

The financing costs amounted to SAR 44 million (USD 11.73 million) during the current year compared to SAR 11 million (USD 2.93 million) in the previous year, which was mainly due to long-term loans to finance part of the acquisitions that have been completed during third quarter 2022. This year includes the full year's financing costs for 2023, in contrast to financing costs for only four months in the previous year 2022.

Maharah Human Resources published its results on 31 March 2024. Shares on 31 March closed at SAR 6.79 (USD 1.81), down 5.5% on the day. The company has a market cap of SAR 2.96 billion (USD 789.16 million).