Staffline Group PLC on Tuesday said it returned to profit in 2024 as revenue and market share grew, but it warned that higher interest rates and rising national insurance costs in the UK are weighing on business confidence in 2025.
The Nottingham, England-based recruitment and training firm said pretax profit was £5.0 million in 2024, swinging from a £2.1 million loss in 2023.
Revenue rose 14% to £992.9 million from £871.3 million, driven by growth across its UK and Irish recruitment operations and an uplift in the National Living Wage.
Underlying operating profit increased 40% to £10.1 million, matching market expectations, from £7.2 million.
Net cash before leases rose to £9.6 million on December 31 from £3.8 million.
Staffline pays no dividend. However, it bought back and cancelled 6.9 million shares, worth £2.5 million, during 2024 and 16.6 million shares in 2023. So far in 2025, it has bought back and cancelled 8.1 million shares, part of a planned £7.5 million buyback.
Staffline said it delivered an ‘excellent trading and cashflow performance’ in 2024 despite macroeconomic headwinds. Gross profit rose 10% to £70.8 million from £64.2 million.
However, the company flagged a more cautious outlook for 2025, citing proposed increases to employers’ national insurance contributions and interest rates that ‘remain higher than originally anticipated’. Still, the board said trading is expected to remain in line with current management expectations.
Chief Executive Officer Albert Ellis said: ‘There is no question that the recruitment market remains challenging, but the combination of Staffline’s scale, market leadership and strong brand has ensured we continue to outperform. With our strategy now firmly focused on recruitment, we are in a strong position to accelerate value creation.’
Staffline completed the £12 million sale of its PeoplePlus Group Ltd training division in February, shifting to a pure-play recruitment focus. The disposal contributed to a reported total loss for the year of £8.3 million, though the continuing business returned to profit.
The company now supplies around 35,000 workers per day in the UK and 4,500 in Ireland.
Shares in Staffline were up 0.2% at 30.65 pence in London on Tuesday morning.
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