Resurs Bemanning (RES B:STO) the Sweden-based employment agency group saw Q4 revenues down -23.3% to €3.69 million (32.5 million SEK) from €4.8 million (42.3 million SEK) in 2010.  The company also reported a loss in operating profit, which was down to -€190,000 (-1.7 million SEK) from previously €34,000 (0.3 million SEK). Staff costs were over €2.6 million (23 million SEK), leading the company to cut its workforce by about 20% in the year. Profit before tax was also negative amounting to -€150,000 (-1.4 million SEK), from €45,000 (0.4 million SEK) in the previous year.

For the full year, revenue came to €16.5 million (145.9 million SEK) from €14.48 million (145.1 million SEK), a slight increase of 0.5%.  Profit before tax was also negative but reduced from the previous year amounting to -€249,000 (-2.2 million SEK) compared to -€380,000 (-3.4 million SEK) in 2010.

Peter Palmquist, Resurs CEO, said that the global “turmoil” affected how clients reacted to the market as they became more “hesitant”, something which forced the company to abandon its growth initiative by making staff cuts.  

Resurs Bemanning, formerly Resurs CNC AB, offers temporary staffing services, recruitment, mediation consultancy and staff changes within specialised sectors of IT, Finance and Office and Administration.

In Staffing Industry Analysts’ latest ranking of the largest staffing firms in Sweden, Resurs appears in 16th place.

In early trading this morning, the company’s share prices went up +2.35% at 3.48 SEK, which means that the firm set a new 52-week high. The company has a market capitalisation of €5.8 million (51 million SEK).