LONDON (Alliance News) - Hydrogen Group PLC said Friday it traded "robustly" in the latter part of 2018, with all regions reporting growth.
The recruitment and consulting firm, as a result, expects its underlying profit in 2018 to be ahead of current market expectations.
In 2017, on underlying basis, Hydrogen posted pretax profit of GBP811,000 on revenue of GBP125.9 million.
Shares in Hydrogen Group were up 8.5% Friday at 62.90 pence each.
Hydrogen opened two new offices in the US in the fourth quarter, in San Diego and Austin. The company also moved its Houston office to larger premises. Hydrogen then announced it will open a new office in Charlotte. Hydrogen hopes the new offices will "provide a foundation for continued sustainable growth".
Hydrogen described its cash generation in the second half as "strong", driven by profit growth and improved cash conversion.
At December 31, Hyrdrogen's net cash was GBP4.9 million from a net debt position of GBP400,000 last year.
The company said: "As reported in the interim results, the group has built a scaleable platform to sustain future growth, which can be supplemented by selective acquisitions that meet the board's strict criteria relating to financial, operational, strategic and cultural fit.
"Supported by the group's continued strong trading performance strengthening the balance sheet, the board is currently actively exploring a number of acquisition opportunities that it believes may meet these criteria."
