Stronger than expected performance in the USA offset the Brexit-induced fall in UK sales
Companies: SThree plc
International recruiter SThree released a half-year trading update on Friday, reporting a 2% rise in group gross profit despite increasingly uncertain macroeconomic conditions in the UK.
For the half-year, the AIM-listed firm enjoyed strong growth in the USA, up 16% compared to last year, with a slightly more modest growth of 7% in Continental Europe. However, gross profit in the UK and Ireland fell 16% thanks to the UK's decision to leave the EU.
Liberum said momentum in the US business was faster than expected and as a result gross profit was ahead of forecasts.
"With an encouraging outlook for both the US and Continental Europe in 2H17, it would appear that the risks to our FY17 estimates lie firmly to the upside."
CEO Gary Elden said he was encouraged by the improvement in momentum across the firm, especially in Continental Europe and the US:
"Our Contract business continues to deliver good growth across almost all regions, with Continental Europe and the USA again being the highlights.
Our Permanent business benefited from a further improvement in productivity, driven by the particularly strong performance in the USA. Further productivity gains remain the priority for our Permanent business in 2017."
Looking forward, Mr Elden added that the momentum gave the company a solid base from which to grow in a macroeconomic environment that has a lot of uncertainty.
Shares in SThree rose 3.8% on Friday.