Persol (2181:JP), the Japanese staffing giant, reported revenue today for the full year ended 31 March 2022 of JPY 1.06 trillion (USD 8.22 billion), an increase of 11.6% when compared to the previous year.

The group said the business performance of its Staffing SBU (Strategic Business Unit) remained strong, and that of Career SBU also recovered steadily. Sales in other SBUs also increased. Persol added that orders received in placement service have already recovered to pre-Covid-19 levels.

The group said revenue, operating profit, and net profit exceeded the forecasts announced in November 2021 and achieved record highs.

During the period Persol announced that it was investing in Intellect Company Pte. Ltd. a Singapore-based mental health startup. On April 2022, the group announced that it invested in WorkIndia, a blue collar-focused jobs website based in Mumbai, India.

Revenue by segment (SBU)

In the Staffing SBU segment, the group operates its temporary staffing business, including mainly clerical and administrative staff dispatching and wide range of staffing service, BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) and placement service mainly for administrative talent in Japan.

Revenue in the temporary staffing sector increased, mainly reflecting a year-on-year increase in the number of temporary active staff. Sales in BPO (business process outsourcing) sector increased because orders received remained strong, mainly in public-related projects. Operating profit increased as a result of the effect of a sales increase in the temporary staffing sector and the growth of the highly profitable BPO sector.

In the Career SBU, the group mainly operates a placement business, supporting corporate clients' mid-career hiring activities, and job recruitment media business. Revenue in the placement business and job recruitment media business increased due to stronger sales promotion activities in addition to a recovery of demand for hiring among companies.

In Professional Outsourcing, the group operates a manufacturing and development outsourcing business in IT and engineering and a temporary staffing business specialized in engineering dispatching. Revenue increased because the engineering area saw a recovery in demand, mainly for development in the manufacturing industry. An additional factor was continued growth in the IT area.

In the Solution SBU segment, the group provides digital solution services for hiring and managing human resources and creates new businesses through incubation programs. Revenue increased due to the continued growth of the career change application business and cloud POS (point of sale) business, mainly reflecting the recovery in companies’ demand for hiring and the effect of sales promotion activities.

In the Asia Pacific segment, the group operates a temporary staffing business and placement business in Asia and a staffing business and maintenance business in Australia (those businesses are operated mainly under the PersolKelly brand in Asia and mainly under the Programmed brand in Australia). Revenue increased due to progress in the recovery from the impact of Covid-19, continued strong sales in Singapore, and growth in sales of the placement business mainly in China, in addition to the effect of the stronger Australian dollar.

On February 2022 Persol announced that it will additionally acquire 46.5% of the 49% of shares in PersolKelly Pte. Ltd., which are held by Kelly Services Inc. This will substantially increase the equity stake in PersolKelly to 97.5%.

Kelly Services, which has historically been involved in the joint venture of PersolKelly, reported its results yesterday.

Looking ahead, given that sales for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2023 are expected to increase in all segments, revenue is forecast to be JPY 1.16 trillion (USD 8.99 billion) and operating profit is forecast at JPY 52.0 billion (USD 403.3 million).

Shares in Persol Holdings Co Ltd closed at JPY 2,294.00 (USD 17.80), up 5.37% on the day and 19.92% above the 52 week low of JPY 1,913.00 (USD 14.84) set on 13 May 2021. The company has a market cap of JPY 547.97 billion (USD 4.25 billion).