Mastech Q4 revenue edges up, net income slips

Pittsburgh-based IT staffing firm Mastech Holdings Inc. (NYSE MKT: MHH) reported fourth-quarter revenue edged up 0.2%, but net income fell 18.6%.

Demand for the company’s staffing services continues to be robust but supply-side pressures are impacting both attrition levels and consultant compensation increases, according to the company. These pressures are impacting average assignment durations and having some adverse effect on gross margin.

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“Despite strong performance in October and November, December proved to be an extremely challenging month in our fourth quarter,” said CEO Kevin Horner. “Weaker sales and recruiting activity levels, driven by the holiday season, combined with an abnormally high level of assignment ends, negatively impacted our billable consultant base. Historically we plan for a higher level of project ends at year-end. However, this year we faced a number of unexpected resignations and client hires, which reflects a tightening of supply in the marketplace.”