Swedish recruitment services firm Hedera Group (HEGR:SS) reported revenue today for the first quarter ended 31 March 2019 of SEK 43.4 million (€4.0 million), an increase of 3.3% compared to last year.

“During the first quarter, we noticed a hardening market,” CEO Maria Nordin, said. “Despite that, it's great that parts of Hedera Group's operations maintained their sales with increased margins compared to the previous year. It is gratifying and this has been done through active and deliberate sales work combined with the strategic choices we made.”

“During the first quarter, we launched a new business area - Hedera Group Consultancy and have signed agreements with several large private healthcare providers,” Nordin said.

Nordin added that on 1 July 2019, VAT will be introduced on rental services in healthcare, which means that the caregivers receive increased costs, which means that the company will see increased costs for hiring staff.

As of last trade, Hedera Group traded at SEK 10.00 (€10.00), down 1.96% on the day and 17.65% above the 52 week low of SEK 8.50 (€0.79) set on 22 August 2018. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 59.32 million (€5.53 million).