Brunel (BRNL: NA), the global energy staffing firm, grew revenue by 17% on a like-for-like basis to €221.3 million in the second quarter of 2018 compared to the prior-year quarter.

EBIT grew to €4 million, recovering from a loss of €1.2 million last year.

Jilko Andringa, CEO of Brunel International, commented, “I’m excited to see our growth accelerate, and to present a strong increase in profitability. I’m thrilled by the underlying level of activities we see in our internal teams, in the sales pipeline and in our communities of professionals.”

“With strong global collaboration, we are able to help our global clients with our entrepreneurship and compliant delivery,” Andringa continued. “The economic conditions in our key markets remain healthy, while the segments of the global Oil & Gas market we operate in are clearly recovering. All Brunel colleagues keep demonstrating our unique capabilities to attract and retain specialists to help our clients continue to grow, while talent is scarce. I trust we will be able to maintain this performance in the rest of the year, especially considering that not all the initiatives we have started are fully contributing yet.”

From Q1 2018, the company adjusted its management structure to encompass the following regions: DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Czech Republic), The Netherlands, Americas, Australasia, Europe & Africa, Middle East & India, Russia & Caspian area and South East Asia. From Q1 2018 onwards, all regions exceeding 10% of total revenue or EBIT are reported separately. The remaining regions are combined in Rest of World.

The change in segment reporting has no impact on the net profit or loss of the group.

Revenue growth by region was as follows.

In the Netherlands, all business lines, except Insurance & Banking, contributed to the growth.

The Australasia region includes Australia and Papua New Guinea. The mining activities of Australia-based SES Labour Solutions, which the group acquired last year, are growing and contributing.

“In Australia, we continue to work on the finalisation and commissioning of large projects in Oil & Gas that started years ago,” the group stated.

In Middle East & India, the group stated: “The very strong growth is the result of the footprint and capabilities we maintained in the downturn in combination with successes in diversification. Especially in Kuwait, Qatar and India we have won major projects, mostly technical specialists.”

Rest of World includes Americas, Russia, Belgium and South East Asia. Americas and Russia are showed significant growth in the second quarter.

“Throughout our business, we see the growth and profitability accelerating,” Brunel stated. “We see an opportunity to benefit from the scarcity in the labour market with our strong brand and communities of professionals. Across the globe the investment level is increasing and our diversification efforts will continue to contribute to our growth.”

Looking ahead, for the full year, Brunel expects revenue between €875 million and €925 million and EBIT between €32 million and €38 million.

As of last trade Brunel International traded at €14.03, down 5.46% on the day and 16.09% below its 52-week high of €16.72, set on 4 May 2018. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of €726.25 million.