The Adecco Group today provided a trading update at its Analyst and Investor Seminar in London.

In July and August, revenue increased by 2% organically and trading days adjusted. Volume trends in early September indicate a slight deceleration compared to the first two months of the third quarter of 2018.

In Q2 2018, Adecco Group organic revenue growth was 5%, or 4% with trading days adjusted.

Compared to Q2 2018, growth in Continental Europe slowed, consistent with softer market and economic data. In Germany revenue growth continues to be impacted by the consolidation of the Adecco and Tuja general staffing brands. The group said that in the markets, such as France, where the ‘Perform, Transform and Innovate’ strategy is most well established, they continue to see solid performances.

During the seminar, group CEO Alain Dehaze and group CFO Hans Ploos van Amstel reconfirmed the strategic and financial commitments announced at the 2017 Capital Markets Day.

Dehaze, commented, “We are pleased to provide an update on the significant progress made with our strategic initiatives since the 2017 Capital Markets Day.”

“GrowTogether pilot countries have confirmed the large opportunity indicated last year, and we are very excited about the potential of our digital platform businesses and General Assembly. Recent trading has been more challenging than expected, driven by Continental Europe. We are already taking the appropriate measures to adjust our costs to reflect this lower growth environment. Our commitment to the group’s transformation and digitisation remains unchanged.”

The Adecco Group stated that it has a clear strategy to achieve structurally higher revenue growth, drive sustained EBITA margin improvement, and maintain a progressive and recession-proof dividend.

“The group’s strategy is built around two major initiatives, GrowTogether and New Ventures, with distinct but complementary goals. Investments in these initiatives increased during 2018 and will continue, in-line with the commitment made at the 2017 Capital Markets Day,” the group stated.

“With GrowTogether, the Adecco Group is transforming and digitising its core business to differentiate its services and take profitable market share. GrowTogether is expected to reduce SG&A as a percentage of sales by 100bps by 2020 (when compared to 2016), while also supporting revenue growth,” the group stated.

The Adecco Group last traded at CHF 55.06 (€48.66), down 4.61% on the day. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of CHF 9.14 billion (€8.07 billion).