LONDON (Alliance News) - Nakama Group PLC saw its shares rise by more than a third early Tuesday after it swung to a pretax profit in the first half of its financial year as increased recruiter demand in its specialist markets drove revenue up by 29%.
In a statement, the recruitment consultancy's Chairman Ken Ford said the number of requirements released by both corporate and agency clients hit a five-year high, reflecting increased confidence in the digital recruitment market.
Nakama reported a pretax profit of GBP222,000 for the six months to September 30, compared with a pretax loss of GBP25,000 a year earlier, as revenue rose to GBP11.1 million, from GBP8.6 million.
"The group has improved its financial position overall and begun to generate some creditable momentum during the period under review, despite a still challenging and competitive marketplace. Looking forward, we are optimistic for the second half and expect to continue to build on these foundations across the group and further grow net fee income over forthcoming trading periods," Ford said.
Its net fee income rose by 27% to GBP2.7 million in the first half, from GBP2.1 million a year earlier, and the net fee income percentage was stable at 25%. Permanent recruitment fees rose 32% to GBP1.3 million, from GBP1.0 million.
It said revenue was up 32% in the UK, driven by demand for both contract and permanent business, while revenue in Asia Pacific rose 20% due to a "shortage of skilled talent within specialised markets".
Nakama specialises in the digital, creative, media, marketing and technology sectors from offices in the UK, Asia and Australia, and in financial services in the UK and Europe.
"We expect steady growth across the Asia and Australasia markets over the next six months with the depth of specialisation being a key differentiator for us. There is still a shortage of skilled talent in our specialised market and we see this shortage continuing, based on the speed of evolution in the digital industry. The continued increase in restrictions on migrant workers across the region will also prove a challenge," Nakama said.
"The UK financial sector has experienced increased demand for IT and Change services, which mirrors the upturn in the UK economy during the first half of the financial year. This increased demand has improved the levels of both contract and permanent recruitment across the board and we expect to see continued growth in our markets. We also anticipate various legislative, regulatory and digital changes in future periods to impact positively upon our UK business," it added.
Nakama shares were up 35.3% at 4.50 pence early Tuesday, the best-performing stock on the London Stock Exchange's main market.
By Steve McGrath; stevemcgrath@alliancenews.com; @stevemcgrath1
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