Empresaria (AIM: EMR), the international specialist staffing group, reported revenue today for the year ended 31 December 2018 of £366.8 million, an increase of 5% in constant currency, when compared to last year.

Net Fee Income increased by 6% in constant currency at £72.3 million from £69.4 million in 2017. Pre-tax profit widened by 18% in constant currency to £9.4 million from £8.1 million the year prior.

Profit performance was helped by the non-recurrence of one-off charges that hit 2017 and which saw Empresaria book a £900,000 loss on a business sale, as well as several other smaller exceptional items. Adjusted pre-tax profit excluding these exceptional costs widened 3.6% to £11.4 million from £11.0 million the year before.

Empresaria saw a number of personnel changes in 2018. In May 2018, the company announced that CEO Joost Kreulen would step down and COO Spencer Wreford would take over as new CEO of the group. In November, Rhona Driggs was appointed as new COO. In 2018, Group Finance Director Tim Anderson joined the Board.

In 2018, Empresaria finalised its acquisition of a 60% interest in Grupo Solimano, a provider of outsourced and temporary staffing services in Peru.

Revenue by Geography

In the UK, revenue was down by 1% but net fee income was up 1% and adjusted operating profit increased by 12% reflecting a mix of performances across the UK businesses.

In Continental Europe, revenue reduced by 3% and net fee income was down by 5% with adjusted operating profit 23% lower, reflecting the impact of regulation changes in Germany.

In Asia Pacific, revenue grew by 3%, net fee income by 10% and adjusted operating profit by 36%. This was primarily driven by Rishworth (aviation staffing) and IMS (offshore recruitment services). 

In the Americas, revenue grew by 25%, with net fee income up by 22% and adjusted operating profit more than doubled.

Looking ahead, Wreford commented, “Our focus in 2019 is to deliver organic growth and strengthen our core brands. With the quality of the brands in our group and a more focused strategy, we see good opportunities to generate profitable growth, but we remain mindful of the increasing economic uncertainty arising from political risks."

As of last trade, Empresaria Group shares traded at £73.80, up 4.68% on the day and 14.86% above the 52 week low of £64.25 set on 23 January 2019. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of £34.56 million.