InterQuest's chairman, chief executive and 40 per cent shareholder, Gary Ashworth, is so confident about prospects for the UK recruitment industry that he has actually been buying shares in his rivals. And there's certainly no sign of a double dip in the company's latest results as recruitment demand from the private sector is far outstripping a contracting public sector.
The recruitment company provides permanent and contract staff to the information technology sector. A combination of renewed demand from banks, as well as regulators led by the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority, means that business is booming: those two sectors now account for around 60 per cent of revenues. The company has also secured its first two sizeable contracts (one with Carphone Warehouse) to manage recruitment needs on-site and undertake additional ventures such as "talent mapping" - the new name for poaching rival staff.
Broker Finncap has upgraded its forecasts and now expects 2011 adjusted pre-tax profits to rise from £3.4m last year to £4.3m on revenues of £115m. Further help might come from the recruitment incubator business as it may turn a 2010 loss of £326,000 into a modest profit.
INTERQUEST (ITQ) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 68.5p | MARKET VALUE: | £21.3m | |
| TOUCH: | 67-70p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 70p | LOW: 49.5p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.6% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 67p* | NET DEBT: | 13% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 57 | 2.23 | 8.0 | nil |
| 2006 | 87 | 3.14 | 11.0 | nil |
| 2007 | 106 | 3.73 | 9.0 | 1.0 |
| 2008 | 97 | 1.79 | 4.4 | 2.0 |
| 2010 | 112 | 2.22 | 6.1 | 2.5 |
| % change | +15 | +24 | +39 | +25 |
Ex-div: tba Payment: 6 Apr Aim: Support services | ||||
