Staffline Regulatory News (STAF)

25 May 2006 11:01

Staffline Recruitment Group plc25 May 2006 For immediate release 25 May 2006 STAFFLINE RECRUITMENT GROUP PLC AGM Statement & Trading Update Staffline Recruitment Group plc, a leading provider of recruitment and outsourcedHR services to industry, is holding its Annual General Meeting today, Thursday25th May 2006, at which the following comments on current trading will be made. Staffline has made a strong start to the year with both sales and profit for thefour months ended 30 April 2006 in line with latest expectations and significantlyahead of the same period last year, driven by strong performances across the Group. Trading Update Staffline Our OnSite division, which manages the temporary recruitment function of itsclients and represents approximately two thirds of Group turnover, has continuedto show progress having successfully won OnSites with both new and existingclients. Our industrial branch division has also performed well and continues toincubate new OnSites. In addition, we can announce today a significant contract win with a majorproducer of fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). Under the contract, Stafflinewill provide all temporary recruitment services to six production sites throughtwo of its existing industrial branches and four new OnSites, all of which willbe operational by June. Techsearch Our Techsearch division represents less than 10% of Group turnover andspecialises in temporary and permanent placements in the engineering and FMCGsectors. During the first four months of the year, it has benefited from anincrease in the number of consultants employed and continues to perform in linewith our expectations. Gangmaster Licensing As we referred to at the time of our preliminary results, announced on 1 March2006, the Gangmasters Licensing Authority started to issue licences to labourproviders operating in the food production and associated sectors in April 2006.We are pleased to report that Staffline was the first of the major labourproviders to have successfully gained a licence. Commenting on the trading update, Andy Hogarth, Staffline's Managing Director,said: "We are pleased with the contract win, announced today, which is testament toour ability to tailor service levels to each client site through our combinedoffering of both branch-based and OnSite services. "Whilst it is still early in the financial year, the strong performance of theGroup in the first four months, the OnSites successfully won to date, and astrong pipeline of OnSite prospects means that we look forward with confidence tocontinued strong progress during the remainder of the year. At this early stagein the year, it is sensible for our outlook for the year as a whole to remainunchanged." Staffline intends to provide a further update on trading at the beginning ofJuly following its half year ending 30 June 2006. - Ends - For further information, please contact: www.staffline.co.uk Staffline Recruitment Group plc 0115 950 0885Andy Hogarth, Managing Director 07931 175775Carole Harvey, Finance Director 07904 262132 Smithfield 020 7360 4900Katie Hunt / Reg Hoare 07884 494112 About Staffline Staffline Recruitment Group plc's main business is as a specialist supplier of"blue collar" temporary and contract staff to industry. It provides a fullyoutsourced service, managing the temporary recruitment function of its clientson their premises, at 60 OnSite locations nationwide and also has a network of17 industrial branches. In addition, the Group has a smaller but growingdivision called Techsearch which specialises in temporary and permanentengineering, IT, HR and FMCG placements and operates from 4 branches. The Group,which is managed from a head office in Nottingham, was founded in 1986 and wasadmitted to AIM in December 2004 (Ticker: STAF.L). This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange