China-based job board and HR resource services provider 51job Inc. (NSDQ: JOBS) reported net revenue increased by 2.4% in the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2020 when compared to the fourth quarter of 2019.

The group’s growth in ‘Other Human Resource related’ revenue offset a decline in Online Recruitment Services revenue.

51job reported an increase in the cost of services which was primarily due to higher employee compensation expenses, staff additions and greater direct costs, such as venue rental, event decoration and media production, incurred in providing campus recruitment services to employers in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The company recognised a loss from foreign currency translation of RMB 33.9 million (USD 5.2 million) in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared with RMB 5.8 million (USD 0.9 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily due to the impact of a change in the exchange rate between the Renminbi and the US dollar on the company’s US dollar cash deposits.

51job operates in two primary business segments: Online Recruitment Services and “Other HR”.

Revenue by segment

The decline in Online Recruitment Services revenue was primarily due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and global economic uncertainty on the business operations of companies in China, which has been disruptive to general recruitment market activity and has negatively affected customer spending on the company’s online recruitment platforms in 2020.

The growth in Other HR related revenue was primarily driven by robust demand for seasonal campus recruitment projects and services, and a solid rebound in the company’s training business as a greater number of events, including some rescheduled from the first half of the year were conducted in the fourth quarter of 2020.

51job also reported full-year net revenue decreased 7.8% in FY 2020 to RMB 3.68 billion (USD 565.52 million). Online recruitment services revenues in 2020 decreased by 13.1% while Other Human Resource related revenues in 2020 increased by 0.8%.

Last week it was reported that 51job, along with Chinese job boards Zhaopin and Liepin, have set up investigation teams and boosted oversight after a television show revealed that all three job boards had leaked user data. 51Job said it has strengthened its procedures for reviewing registration qualifications, and began fully implementing real-name authentication and facial recognition for corporate accounts.

Shares in 51job closed yesterday at USD 63.49, down 0.03% on the day and 17.70% above the 52 week low of USD 53.94 set on 23 March 2020. The company has a market cap of USD 4.26 billion.