Swedish staffing firm Poolia (POOLB: SS) announced revenue for the second quarter ending 30 June 2017 of SEK 194.2 million (€20.2 million), a decrease of 3.8% compared with the same quarter last year.

“Demand for our services remains very good in Sweden and Germany,” Morten Werner President and CEO of Poolia said.

Werner added that the lack of candidates, especially for temporary assignments, is said to affect the company's ability to grow, even though there’s a positive trend in the number of employed consultants.

“The number of working days and holidays that occur on weekdays has varied significantly between the first and second quarters of 2016 and 2017. However, on a half-year basis, all countries had exactly as many working days in 2016 and 2017. Therefore, an analysis of the figures for the six months gives a better insight into the development of operations,” Werner said.

Poolia also reported revenue for the period from January to June 2017. Revenue for the half-year period was broken down as follows:

Werner added that Finnish operations reported a loss of SEK 0.6 million (€62,400) for the first half of 2017, but the operating margin improved to 3.0% as a result of previously realized cost reductions.             

“We continue to invest resources in marketing and sales to get back into a growth phase and continuously develop our business to become an even more attractive employer for consultants,” Werner said. “I'm still positive about Poolia's future. Poolia continuously shows improved profitability and is well equipped to continue its journey towards growth. Poolia's long-term goals and strategies are established.”

As of last trade, Poolia AB traded at SEK 15.80 (€1.64), up 6.40% on the day and 22.48% above the 52 week low of SEK 12.90 (€1.34) set on 1 August 2016. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 194.51 million (€20.24 million).