South African recruitment firm AdvTech (ADH: SJ) reported revenue for the year ended 31 December 2017 of ZAR 4.08 billion (USD 340.7 million), an increase of 22% compared to last year.

Revenue for the full year was driven by the group’s tertiary and resourcing divisions.

Late last year, the group announced that it had uncovered incidents of fraud amounting to ZAR 48.1 million (USD 3.4 million) as a result of changes being implemented through the restructuring of the finance and administrative functions in its Schools division. The fraud was perpetrated by a financial manager in the division over a three-year period starting in 2015. These activities resulted in an overstatement of revenue, an understatement of costs and the theft of cash. Overall, the fraud resulted in a ZAR 35.5 million (USD 2.9 million) after taxation impact.

Advtech stated that the correction of the fraud for the preceding two years as well as the current year has been accounted for in the 2017 financial results.

The company earns most of its revenue through two separate education divisions, Schools and Tertiary. AdvTech Group’s Resourcing division’s activities include permanent and temporary staffing solutions; as well as recruitment advertising, e-recruitment, and advertisement response handling. The company predominately operates in the IT, Finance, and Engineering sectors.

The Schools division reported that revenue increased by 14% to ZAR 866 million (USD 72.1 million), representing 46% of group revenue. The division’s financial results were impacted by effects from the fraud as well as lower enrolments in some of the group’s premium brands.

The Tertiary division saw revenue increased by 26% to ZAR 580 million (USD 48.3 million), contributing 39% of group revenue.

AdvTech Group’s resourcing division saw revenue growth mainly due to the success of the strategy to enter alternative markets outside of South Africa, where it says that it has experienced significant growth. Revenue increased by 40% to ZAR 644 million (USD 53.6 million) during 2017.

“We continue to see numerous opportunities, both in South Africa and the rest of the continent, and the group remains in a strong position to pursue its ambitious yet considered organic and acquisitive growth strategy,” the group stated.

“Our tertiary and resourcing divisions continue to perform well while significant change is being implemented at the schools division to sharpen market focus and drive operational efficiencies to enable the division to return to a high level of performance. New market segments and new product offerings are continuously being explored, while in our core markets we expect organic and greenfield growth to continue despite increased competition and challenging economic conditions. These factors, we believe, will further enhance our business performance” the group stated.

In trading today Advtech traded at ZAR 1,547.00 (USD 128.9), down 1.46% on the day and 6.69% above its 52-week low of ZAR 1,450.00 (USD 120.8), set on 15 December 2017. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of ZAR 8.55 billion (USD 712.4 million).