Staffline H1 profit rises, says no impact from Brexit so far

Staffing services and outsourcing group Staffline posted a rise in first-half pre-tax profit as revenue grew and the company said it has seen no signs that Brexit is affecting demand for its services.

For the six months ended 30 June, underlying pre-tax profit was up 50.5% to £15.2m on revenues of £414.7m, up 39.5% from the same period last year,

Net debt fell to £43.7m from £63.1m and Staffline lifted its interim dividend by 40% to 10.5p.

The company said it experienced a record first half within its staffing division. OnSites grew by 36 locations in the half, with total locations now at 341 versus 267 last year.

Staffline said current trading remains positive and the group is on track to meet full-year expectations.

Chief executive Andy Hogarth said: "This positive first half of the year reflects the continuation of the growth and success which the Group enjoyed in 2015. It is hugely encouraging to see that, even in these uncertain economic times, Staffline can continue to thrive, with another record of OnSites opened in our Staffing division and a continuing strong new business pipeline.

“We have every confidence that our strategic initiatives will translate into delivering current market expectations for 2016 and drive long term shareholder value."

As far Brexit is concerned, the group said although it has only been a month since the vote to leave the European Union, it has not seen a reduction in demand for its services or in availability of contractors.

“Whilst it is too early to tell what the long-term impact of Brexit may be, as the market-leading provider of temporary workers, our scale and capability has enabled us to manage a gradual tightening of the labour market and gives us confidence that we will continue to do so.”

At 1541 BST, Staffline shares were up 3.5% to 889.88p.