SThree gears up for uncertain 2012

Staffing business SThree reported a 40% increase in annual pre-tax profit as a strong international performance outweighed weakness in the UK.

For the year ended 27 November 2011 revenue increased to £542.5m from £474.5m a year earlier. Pre-tax profit rose to £30.3m from £21.6m.

Sthree, which opened offices in Doha, Antwerp, Sao Paulo, Zurich, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Chicago, Boston and Moscow, said it was a strong performance given the changing market sentiment during the year.

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The group, which now produces 78% of gross profits from outside of the UK ICT market, said it expects international focus to continue.

Permanent placements increased by 13.5% to 7,434, with average fees up strongly. The number of active contractors at year-end increased by 7.6% to 4,692.

CEO Russell Clements commented, "While demand is lower than in the prior year, it is also undoubtedly the case that overall, market conditions remain in far better shape than those we saw in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. It is also true that just as sentiment can deteriorate very quickly, it can also move in a positive direction equally rapidly."

"We will manage the business prudently but we will not lose sight of the great medium term prospects for our business and where appropriate we will invest to ensure that the Group's future lives up to its potential."

At the year-end net cash and term investments stood at £55.6m.