Swedish recruitment services firm Hedera Group (HEGR:SS) reported revenue for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2017 of SEK 37.4 million (€3.7 million), a decrease of 27% compared to last year.

The company stated that revenue in Q4 2016 was exceptionally high with many large businesses and collaborations, some of which were completed in spring 2017 as well as in Q4 2017. Hedera Group stated that high figure in Q4 2016 resulted in lower sales during the fourth quarter.

Last week, Hedera Group announced that it signed an agreement to acquire Swedish Medical staffing firm Baehrendtz & Haeger AB, which will take effect from 6 March 2018.  The company is a niche employer of gynaecology and obstetrics and provides staffing for clinics in Sweden.

To fund the acquisition of Baehrendtz & Haeger, the Board of Hedera Group is calling for an additional Annual General Meeting on 16 March 2018 for a directed issue of SEK 7 million (€0.7 million) as well as a rights issue of SEK 15.9 million (€1.5 million) with access on 6 March 2018.

CEO Bertil Haglund, commented, “The market has been very competitive during the latter part of the year and it has been difficult to recruit doctors for new assignments. I see the same tendencies with our competitors with some pressure on the margins and hard to recruit.”

Hedera Group outlined that its vision is to be one of the leading players in medical staffing. The group plans to further expand, which will take place through acquisitions and organic growth. The group aims to grow organically by at least 20% per year and actively seek new acquisitions in order to increase sales. The acquisitions will primarily focus on medical staffing companies.

The group also reported full year revenue of SEK 155.6 million (€15.5 million), an increase of 10.2% compared to the previous year.

As of last trade, Hedera Group traded at SEK 15.00 (€1.49), up 4.90% on the day and 20.00% above the 52 week low of SEK 12.50 (€1.25) set on 27 December 2017. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 54.21 million (€5.4 million).