Dedicare (DEDI: SS), a Swedish staffing firm, reported revenue for the third quarter ended 30 September 2019 of SEK 211.2 million (€0.7 million), a fall of 4.3% compared with the same period last year.

Dedicare said the lower revenues and the lower earnings compared with the previous year are still attributable to operations in Sweden.

“This is the same trend we have seen in recent quarters caused partly by increased salary levels for consultants (nurses / doctors) and partly that the market for socio-genomes has decreased,” the company stated.

In previous interim reports, Dedicare has said it has faced squeezed operating margins, adding that the healthcare staffing industry as a whole has experienced reduced profitability.

Dedicare said its operations in Norway are developing very well with growth both in terms of revenue and earnings. The improved results are due to the fact that the company hired more consultants; doctors, nurses and educators, and increased sales to both existing and new customers.

Finland and Denmark, the company’s new markets, generated revenue for the quarter of SEK 1.2 million (€0.1 million). However, the group added that its Finnish operations have not developed at the planned pace. Revenue during the period is primarily attributed to staffing services with Finnish nurses to the other Nordic countries.

As of last trade, Dedicare traded at SEK 43.10 (€4.02), no change on the day and 16.17% above the 52 week low of SEK 37.10 (€3.46) set on 7 June 2019. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 303.57 million (€28.3 million).