Last checked at 
LONDON (Alliance News) - International staffing company Empresaria Group PLC said Thursday trading in the six months to June was strong, with both revenue and profit up, despite a slowdown in May and June due to uncertainty surrounding the UK's referendum of European Union membership.
Revenue was up 15% to GBP106.1 million from GBP92.4 million, while pretax profit was also up 15% to GBP3.1 million from GBP2.7 million.
Empresaria said the Middle East market was impacted by the low oil price during the first half of 2016, leading to hiring decisions being put on hold. However, the group said it expects this to improve by the end of the year given the infrastructure projects which will commence in the region, with the Dubai World Expo in 2020 and Qatar World Cup in 2022.
The company said the most notable growth was in India and China, the latter having responded well to a restructure of the management team last year, refocused on local business in growth sectors.
Empresaria said the build up to the UK's EU referendum led to a slowdown during May and June, as business confidence dropped and hiring decisions slowed or were postponed. The group said the market has stabilised since the UK's vote to leave the EU, and its sales pipelines have been holding up well, but it remains too early to see what impact Brexit will have on the business.
However, Empresaria said it is a globally diversified company, and so should be well-positioned to manage the effects of a slowdown in any particular sector or region.
"Our focus on continuing to drive organic growth is matched with an invest and develop approach with a pipeline of interesting prospects. We see good growth opportunities across our existing brands and from further potential investments. We remain confident in our ability to meet current market expectations," said Joost Kreulen, Empresaria chief executive.
Shares in Empresaria were up 0.6% at 98.60 pence.
By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2016 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
