Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. reported revenue rose 22.0% in its fiscal third quarter ended 31 December 2021. The Tokyo-based firm, which ranks as the fourth-largest global staffing firm, reported economic activity continued to improve and hiring demand increased in the US, Europe and Japan.

Revenue, adjusted EBITDA, and adjusted EBITDA margin increased over the year mainly due to the performance of HR Technology.

Revenue in Recruit’s HR technology segment — which includes Indeed and Glassdoor — rose 97.2%. Recruit noted elevated hiring activity globally led to higher demand.

“The relatively limited supply of job seekers looking for work combined with significant hiring demand continued to create competition for talent on Indeed and Glassdoor,” Junichi Arai, executive officer of the corporate planning division of Recruit, said in a conference call with analysts.

Global staffing revenue was up 9.1% excluding the impact of exchange rates.

“Revenue in Europe, US and Australia increased by 16.2%, or 9.1% excluding the positive impact of foreign exchange rate movements, mainly due to increased demand for temporary staff as businesses continued to seek flexible labor to reopen and expand in an uncertain environment,” Arai said.

HR Technology consists of the operations of Indeed, Glassdoor and other related businesses. Media & Solutions consists of two business operations, namely, Marketing Solutions and HR Solutions. Staffing consists of two business operations, which are Japan, and Europe, the US and Australia.

Revenue by segment

Within HR Technology, revenue in the US reported growth supported by both small and medium sized businesses and large enterprises. Revenue outside of the US increased, primarily led by Europe and Canada. The limited supply of job seekers looking for work combined with significant hiring demand continued to create competition for talent on Indeed and Glassdoor, and that competition was a significant driver of revenue growth in Q3 2021.

Revenue in Media & Solutions for Q3 2021 decreased 9.8% year over year, as the increase in HR Solutions was offset by a decrease in Marketing Solutions. Excluding the revenue from the Rent Assistance Program for Marketing Solutions in Q3 2020, revenue increased 7.9% year over year. In Marketing Solutions, Housing & Real Estate and Beauty continued to be the primary drivers of revenue growth while revenue in Bridal also increased year over year as economic activity improved with the lifting of the state of emergency and priority preventative measures at the end of September 2021. Revenue in Travel and Dining decreased as revenue in Q3 FY2020 had been positively impacted by the temporary Go To Travel and Go to Eat campaigns initiated by the Japanese government.

In HR Solutions, revenue in the part-time job advertising business increased year over year as hiring demand recovered, especially in the restaurant sector. Also, revenue in the placement service increased year over year, due to increased hiring demand in many industries which use placement services.

Staffing revenue in Europe, the US and Australia rose 16.2% year over year mainly due to increased demand for temporary staff. Revenue in Japan increased 9.1% as the number of temporary staff on assignment increased year over year.

Along with continued demand for logistics roles to support e-commerce, revenue growth was supported by temporary demand for healthcare roles to support Covid-19 mitigation efforts, particularly in Europe, as new variants emerged,” according to the company.

Looking ahead, Recruit forecasted revenue for the full 2021 fiscal year will be up between 19.0% and 23.4%.

Revenue in the company’s HR technology segment should be at the upper end of guidance for the second half of the current fiscal year in a range of 60% to 70% on a US dollar basis. Staffing revenue should be up 5% year over year in the company’s European, US and Australian business. Revenue in Recruit’s media and solutions segment — which includes non-staffing publishing revenue — is forecast to rise 17% to 22% for the HR solutions business line in the second half of the fiscal year.

Shares in Recruit closed yesterday at JPY 5,764.00 (USD 49.83), down 1.81% on the day, shares were 21.17% above their 52-week low. The company has a market cap of JPY 8.55 trillion (USD 73.92 billion).