Work Service (WSE:WSE) the Polish staffing, RPO, and outsourcing company reported revenue of PLN 1.34 million  (€313.1 million) for the first half of 2017, an increase of 11.4% compared with the same period last year.

Figures from H1 2017 were as follows and represents continued and discontinued operations.

Work Service stated that the process of the sale of shares in groups IT Kontrakt and Proservice, which they announced in July 2017, was completed within the ongoing group’s transformation in H1, leading to a non-cash deduction, which decreased the consolidated net result for H1 2017. Without the one-off disinvestment deductions, the group’s net profit (without write-off) reached PLN 7 million (€1.6 million).

Work Service stated that one of the pillars in its development plan is the consolidation of structures and increasing efficiency. As a result, two independent processes of sales transaction of shares in groups IT Kontrakt and Proservice were carried out in H1 2017. The company stated that the process relating to IT Kontrakt had a  positive impact and Proservice a negative impact on the company’s balance sheet. Following these activities, the company made a deduction, which hampered net profit by a total amount of PLN 77.6 million (€18.1 million). In IT Kontrakt, the company saw a profit of PLN 79.3 million (€18.5 million) while in the sale of shares in Proservice Group, the company recorded a loss of PLN 157 million (€36.6 million).

“It’s been a very active six months, during which we’ve improved key operational results and once again confirmed that execution of our strategic goals brings about intended outcomes,” Maciej Witucki, President of the Board, Work Service, said. “Our business is growing at a stable two-digit pace, and our development is connected with a good condition of the labour market throughout whole CEE (Central and Eastern Europe) region. Thanks to proper management of cost policy, our revenues are growing faster than liabilities, and we have also managed to limit the level of indebtedness.”

“Opting for greater transparency of Work Service Group and predictable conditions for running business activities, we decided at the turn of the year to sell two groups comprising ten companies in total,” Wituck said. “As a result, in H1 2017 we left, inter alia, the Russian market, where (as proven by our previous experiences) business activities entail extensive uncertainty and various risks. Simultaneously, results in Russia had been systematically deteriorating after 2014, i.e. since imposing sanctions on this country. Therefore, we’ve decided to focus on developing our business in CEE states, where we have been dynamically growing for the last six months. Currently, 75% of the group’s revenues come from our businesses in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary, and we’ve been growing at a double-digit pace on all these markets.”

In trading Friday, shares closed at PLN 6.96 (€1.62), down 9.6% on the day. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of PLN 453.06 million (€105.7 million).