Chinese job board and HR provider 51job Inc. (JOBS: NSQ) reported revenue of RMB 457.5 million (USD 73.8 million) for the second quarter ending 3 June 2014, a year-on-year increase of +13.1% from RMB 404.4 million (USD 65 million) in Q2 2013.

The company achieved a gross profit of RMB 325.8 million (USD 52.5 million), up by +13.9% from RMB 286.0 million (USD 46.2 million) last year. Net income for the period, however, fell -56.3% to RMB 52.0 million (USD 8.4 million) from RMB 119.2 million (USD 19.2 million) a year ago.

Total operating costs for the quarter increased to RMB 203.4 million (USD 32.8 million) from RMB 160.6 million (USD 25.9 million) last year.

Commenting on the results, Rick Yan, President and Chief Executive Officer of 51job, said, "In the second quarter, we made good progress in our customer acquisition efforts as we saw robust expansion of the unique employer user base in our online business. We were also pleased with the performance of our other HR services area which, despite operational adjustments we are currently undergoing in our HR outsourcing business, maintained solid growth and was lifted by increased contribution of our training and other services. We remain focused on our long-term vision to become the most comprehensive, end-to-end HR services provider in China and are pursuing initiatives, investments and opportunities to strengthen our market leadership and achieve this goal."

Revenue derived from online recruitment services for the second quarter of 2014 was RMB 312.0 million (USD 50.3 million), representing a +15.8% increase from RMB 269.5 million (USD 43.6 million) for the same quarter last year. The growth was principally due to an increase in the number of unique employers using the company’s online recruitment services, which was partially offset by a decrease in average revenue per unique employer. 

Print advertising revenues for the second quarter of 2014 decreased by -78.8% to RMB 2.3 million (USD 0.4 million) compared with RMB 11.0 million (USD 1.77 million) for the same quarter in 2013; primarily due to the ongoing business transition away from print advertising services. 

Other human resource related revenues for the second quarter of 2014 increased by +15.6% to RMB 143.2 million (USD 23.1 million) from RMB 123.8 million (USD 20.0 million) in the same quarter of 2013; primarily due to growth and usage of business process outsourcing and training services.

Looking forward to the third quarter, the company forecasts adjusted earnings of RMB 2.25 (USD 0.36) to RMB 2.45 (USD 0.39) per share and upgraded revenue of RMB 455 million (USD 73.5 million) to RMB 470 million (USD 75.9 million).

In trading yesterday, the company’s share price rose by +5% to USD 38.25, 11.05% below its 52 week high set on 21^st February, 2014. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of USD 2.27 billion.