Australian training and labour hire firm Ashley Services (ASH: ASX) reported revenue today for the six-month period ended 31 December 2022 of AUD 262.4 million (USD 177.9 million), an increase of 19.4% compared to the previous year.

Ross Shrimpton, Managing Director, said "The first half of financial year 2023 has seen the Ashley Services Group continue its strong growth in revenues, driven partly by the Linc acquisition, but largely through increased hours  worked with existing customers and new business wins.”

During the six months, we also saw the successful start-up of Dardi Munwurro Labour and Traffic Management Pty Ltd, a company in which ASH (Ashley Services) has a non-controlling 49% interest,” Shrimpton added. “Dardi supplies indigenous labour to the construction and infrastructure sectors in Victoria.”

On 4 January 2023, Ashley Services acquired a 49% interest in EWP Yalagan Pty, an indigenously controlled company, providing labour to the mining sector in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

On 6 February 2023, the group completed its acquisition of Owen Pacific Workforce Pty Ltd. Owen Pacific provides seasonal workers to the Australian horticultural industry. Owen Pacific’s workers are predominantly sourced from Tonga and Vanuatu.

Ashley Services previously reported it was buying a 100% stake in Owen Pacific for between AUD 14.2 million (USD 9.6 million) and AUD 15.0 million (USD 10.1 million) based on EBITDA for the financial year ending 30 June 2023.

Shrimpton said, “These acquisitions continue the strategic expansion of our labour hire business, broadening both our sourcing options for labour and our industry sector and geographic coverage.”

Revenue by division

The Linc acquisition boosted revenue at Labour Hire. Excluding the acquisition, labour hire revenues were up $32.7 million (15.8%), driven predominantly by growth in construction and traffic management labour hire in Victoria and increased hours in Action Workforce in New South Wales with both existing and new customers.

The Training division delivered revenue growth of AUD 1.5 million (USD 1.0 million) or 24.4%, with the prior period negatively impacted by Covid-19 restrictions. Growth was achieved across both the Ashley Training division and The Instruction Company which were both negatively impacted by Covid-19 restrictions in the prior period.

Ashley Services Group shares closed at AUD 0.79 (USD 0.54), down 2.47% on the day and 4.82% below its 52-week high of AUD 0.83 (USD 0.56), set on 10 February 2023. The company has a market cap of AUD 116.62 million (USD 79.0 million).