Gross profit rises at Harvey Nash Group

25th Sep 2018 14:52

(Sharecast News) - Technology recruitment and outsourcing company Harvey Nash Group announced its unaudited interim results for the six month period ended 31 July on Tuesday, reporting a 7.2% improvement in gross profit to £51.68m, or 11.1% on a like-for-like basis.The AIM-traded firm said its profit before tax improved 19.2% to £5.26m, or 52.0% before non-recurring items.Revenue was up 14.8% to £292.19m, or ahead 15.3% at constant currency.Earnings per share were up 22.6% to 5.48p, or up 48.7% before non-recurring items.The board declared an interim dividend of 1.75p per share, which was 6.5% higher than that paid at the interim last year.Net debt widened to £21.5m from £10.0m, which the Harvey Nash board said reflected its expanding working capital."I am pleased that in a challenging market our UK business has increased revenues and delivered a robust financial performance despite declines reported across the recruitment sector in light of uncertainty surrounding the negotiations between the European Union and the UK," said chief executive officer Albert Ellis."The group's businesses in mainland Europe performed well whilst results from the rest of the world were mixed, with a decline in US revenue set against a strong performance from our Vietnam based IT outsourcing business."Overall, trading remains in line with the board's expectations for the full year."