Accordant (AGC:NZC), the New Zealand-based temporary staffing provider, reported revenue today for the six month period ended 30 September 2021 of NZD 110.4 million (USD 78.8 million), up 4.2% compared to last year.

The group reported strong demand and activity for the H1 period.

Executive Director Simon Bennett said the impacts of the current lockdowns beginning on 18 August differed materially from those affecting the financial first half a year ago.

“This year the business has moved seamlessly to working from home, demand has remained strong into the lockdowns, and we have been able to move some temporary workers to alternative work, or to present permanent employment opportunities,” Bennett said.

The ‘AWF’ segment operates branches under the brand names AWF (throughout New Zealand) and Select (Dunedin). These brands primarily derive their revenues from temporary staffing services to industry.

The ‘Madison, Absolute IT and JacksonStone & Partners’ segment operate branches under the brand names Madison Recruitment, Madison Force, Absolute IT and JacksonStone & Partners throughout New Zealand. These brands derive their revenues from temporary, contract and permanent staff services to commerce.

While profit was up strongly in the Madison segment, it was lower in the AWF segment was impacted overall profit for the group.

AWF was most impacted by the nationwide Level 4 lockdowns, and remains challenged by border closures and a shortage of candidates. Business has been steadily increasing as the group has moved to Level 3 and 2. Demand for permanent placements has also increased, albeit off a low base.

Accordant reported a fair value loss on contingent consideration during the period.

Madison, which struggled following the 2020 lockdowns, is also performing strongly after making positive changes to its resourcing model to deal with such strong client demand.

Absolute IT was unable to fully capitalise on strong demand as quickly as Accordant’s other divisions as it has been highly restricted in its ability to draw on overseas workers with scarce skill sets.

Bennett said the prospects for Madison, Absolute IT and JacksonStone & Partners were good for the second half of the current year.

“We remain confident that the greater Auckland region, and New Zealand as a whole, will return to lower lockdown restrictions over the coming months,” Bennett said. “For AWF, we expect some form of border reopening towards the end of our financial year will allow us to contemplate sourcing migrant labour once again, and will also allow us to source highly skilled IT workers offshore. The job market remains buoyant and Accordant has a good pipeline of work going into the second half of the financial year.”

On 21 June 2021, Accordant Group appointed Jason Cherrington as CEO of the company.

Jason Cherrington, CEO, said, “Strong market demand for candidates is set to continue and the investments we have made in our sourcing capability and digital tools will continue to be an advantage.”

Earlier this year the Employment Court of New Zealand ruled in favour of Madison Recruitment Limited in a case where eight of its former employees brought legal proceedings claiming they should have been considered as employees by the Inland Revenue.

Shares in Accordant Group set a new 52-week high during today's trading session when it reached NZD 1.99 (USD 1.42). Over this period, the share price is up 31.51%. The company last traded at NZD 1.92 (USD 1.37), down 1.54% on the day. The company has a market cap of NZD 65.93 million (USD 47.0 million).