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View All NewsSweden – Wise Group Q2 revenue and profits up, Swedish and Finnish operations lead growth
Wise Group (WISE:SS), the Swedish staffing firm reported revenue on Friday for the second quarter ending 30 June 2018 of SEK 240.4 million (€22.5 million), an increase of 14.3% compared with the same quarter last year.
For comparison, sales of SEK 7.6 million (€0.7 million) have been eliminated attributable to Bright Relation AB, which was acquired and consolidated in June 2017. Revenue increased by 11% in the second quarter compared to the same period last year
| (SEK millions) | Q2 2018 | Q2 2017 | Change | Q2 2018 (€ millions) |
| Revenue | 240.4 | 210.3 | 14.3% | 22.5 |
| EBITDA | 16.6 | 15.5 | 7.1% | 1.5 |
| Operating Profit | 13.3 | 12.9 | 3.1% | 1.2 |
| Profit for the Period | 10.3 | 9.5 | 8.4% | 0.9 |
During the quarter, Wise Group acquired the remaining minority shares in the Finnish subsidiary K2 Search Oy. The acquisition price for the minority amounted to €710,000 and was a cash transaction. The total investment in the company amounts to €775,000.
Also during the quarter, Johan Segergren, CEO of the subsidiary K2 Search AB and a member of the Wise Group's management team, resigned from the company effective June 2018.
In the second quarter, Boel Sjöstrand was appointed new CEO of the subsidiary Wise Professionals AB. Sjöstran’s appointment will take effect from 1 September 2018 where she will then join Wise Group's management team.
Wise Group also announced that Stefan Wikström, CEO of subsidiary Brilliant Future AB and a member of the Wise Group's management team, resigned from the company effective November 2018.
Revenue by business segment was broken down during Q2 2018 as follows:
| (SEK millions) | Q2 2018 | Q2 2017 | Change | Q2 2018 (€ millions) |
| Recruitment & Consultancy | 150.8 | 132.8 | 13.5% | 14.1 |
| HR Consultancy and Leader Development | 47.3 | 43.7 | 8.2% | 4.4 |
| Digital HR Services | 42.2 | 33.7 | 25.2% | 3.9 |
Geographically, revenue was broken down as follows. Wise Group has operations in Sweden and Finland. The previous operations in Denmark have been largely decommissioned. There are still some activities still being handled from Denmark which were reported below.
| (SEK millions) | Q2 2018 | Q2 2017 | Change | Q2 2018 (€ millions) |
| Sweden | 232.5 | 203.5 | 14.2% | 21.8 |
| Finland | 6.9 | 3.5 | 97.1% | 0.6 |
| Denmark | 0.9 | 3.2 | -71.8% | 0.0 |
“Based on the trends we see and the work we are currently implementing with a view to securing our business in the future, we are still confident that our strong position will continue to generate good growth and improved profitability. Me and my colleagues in the management team will take on the rest of the year with high confidence and energy,” Ingrid Höög, CEO, said.
In trading on Friday, shares at Wise Group closed at SEK 56.00 (€5.26), down 6.04% on the day. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 410.93 million (€38.5 million).