Japanese staffing firm Career Bank (4834: JP) reported revenue today for the first six months ended 30 November 2024 of JPY 2.53 billion (USD 16.0 million), a decrease of 19.8% compared to last year.

Career Bank offers temporary staffing services, recruitment, payroll, outplacement, and other services. The “Other” segment includes Career Bank’s language training business in China.

The company said that in its temporary staffing-related business, while there was an impact from a decrease in long-term temporary staffing contracts, sales and profits exceeded those of the same period of the previous year as a result of an increase in the number of recruitment contracts and an expansion of the business related to foreign human resources.

Revenue in the education and training business rose due to an increase in demand for in-house training to retain employees, which was affected by the difficulty of recruiting due to a labour shortage. Revenue in the employment support outsourcing sector increased, driven by a higher number of contracts as the group expanded into new regions.

The company said its BPO business was removed after Japanese staffing firm Ecomic’s capital increase, which shifted the group’s status from a consolidated subsidiary to an equity method affiliate.

Looking ahead, the company forecasted revenue of JPY 5.24 billion (USD 33.2 million) for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Career Bank shares closed at JPY 1,240 (USD 7.85), up 2.39% on the day. The company has a market cap of JPY 1.23 billion (USD 7.8 million).