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View All NewsSweden – Wise Group Q4 revenue up 20%, but profits down as group announces leadership changes
Wise Group (WISE:SS), the Swedish staffing firm reported revenue for the fourth quarter ending 31 December 2017 of SEK 232.0 million (€23.4 million), an increase of 20% compared with the same quarter last year.
| (SEK millions) | Q4 2017 | Q4 2016 | Change | Q4 2017 (€ millions) |
| Revenue | 232.0 | 193.8 | 20% | 23.4 |
| EBITDA | 15.1 | 18.4 | -18% | 1.5 |
| Operating Profit | 11.1 | 16.2 | -31% | 1.1 |
| Net Income | 7.1 | 10.0 | -29% | 0.7 |
In August of last year, CEO Roland Gustavsson resigned as CEO with effect from February 2018. The Board appointed Ingrid Höög, CEO of the group’s subsidiary Wise Professionals AB, to
CEO of Wise Group with effect from 16 February 2018.
The group made a number of other significant personnel changes during the fourth quarter.
The Board appointed Charlotte Berglund, CFO of Wise Group, as Deputy CEO..
Ulrika Linnersjö, CEO of the group’s subsidiary Edge HR AB, left her role as CEO. Niclas Smedberg, Sales Manager and Vice President of Edge HR, joined as the subsidiary’s CEO and member of Wise Group's management team.
Meanwhile, Lina Cavalli CEO of subsidiary Wise Consulting AB and member of the management team also decided to leave the company in January 2018. The Board appointed Lisen Agnevik, Deputy CEO of Wise Consulting AB, to the role of CEO, Wise Consulting AB, with effect from 16 January 2018.
The Board of Wise Group decided to decommission large parts of the Danish
operations in the light of weak earnings development in recent years.
Revenue by business segment was broken down during Q4 2017 as follows:
| (SEK millions) | Q4 2017 | Q4 2016 | Change | Q4 2017 (€ millions) |
| Recruitment | 142.4 | 122.1 | 17% | 14.3 |
| Consultant Services | 44.4 | 40.9 | 9% | 4.4 |
| HR Services | 45.2 | 30.8 | 47% | 4.5 |
Geographically, revenue during Q4 2017 broke down as follows:
| (SEK millions) | Q4 2017 | Q4 2016 | Change | Q4 2017 (€ millions) |
| Sweden | 225.8 | 188.8 | 20% | 22.7 |
| Denmark | 1.4 | 2.3 | -38% | 0.1 |
| Finland | 4.8 | 2.7 | 78% | 0.4 |
Wise Group also reported full year revenue of SEK 816.5 million (€82.3 million), up 13% compared with last year.
“The quarterly earnings as well as the year's profit were affected by a very weak development in Denmark and the settlement costs associated with closing our office in Copenhagen,” outgoing CEO Gustavsson said. “This is my last CEO word for Wise Group AB. There have been six eventful years where a lot has happened within the Group and we have strengthened our position as a leading player in the industry. Among other things, we have carried out several acquisitions, started new operations and multiplied our turnover.”
In trading today, Wise Group traded at SEK 49.50 (€4.99), no change on the day and 10.00% above its 52-week low of SEK 45.00 (€4.54), set on 6 February 2018. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of SEK 365.85 million (€36.9 million).