Hydrogen rises on strong 2011

5th Mar 2012 10:04

Hydrogen, the specialist recruitment firm, has seen revenues and profits grow on the back of strong performances from its pharmaceuticals and oil and gas divisions.Group revenue increased by 27% to £156.2m (2010: £123.4m) while net fee income (NFI) rose 8% to £29.8m, a record for Hydrogen. The company says it achieved its objective of balancing the types of fees it receives, with contract placements representing 54% of NFI, and permanent 46%.Profits before tax for the full year were £3.7m, up 48% on the prior year.Hydrogen had previously declared an interim dividend of 1.4p per share, today it has announced a final dividend of 2.9p per share (2010: 2.7p) bringing the total dividend for the year to 4.3p (2010: 4.1p).The firm's target is to receive over 50% of its fee income from international operations by the end of 2012; in 2011, it managed 37%, with the second half of the year rising to 40%.Hydrogen's Executive Chairman, Ian Temple said: "Our Oil & Gas and Pharmaceuticals practices, established in 2008 and 2010 respectively, performed exceptionally well and together contributed nearly 30% of Group NFI. The year saw continued success in our overseas expansion with International NFI rising by 25% over the period. "Shares in Hydrogen had risen 4.8% by 10:29. Over the last 12 months the stock has fallen 29.5%BS