CPL rides flexible working trend to deliver 18pc profit boost

RESULTS show gross profit at CPL Resources increased by 16pc to €83.2m as the company noted continued growth in the flexible working segment.

According to the Irish recruitment group, profit before tax jumped 18pc to €18.5m and revenue has increased by 15pc to €522.7m for the 2018 financial year.

The double-digit growth for the Dublin and London-listed firm’s year-end results has exceeded analysts’ expectations.

The so-called flexible working sector was the big boost for the group, the segment representing 68.4pc of gross profit. Analysts at Davy said the results highlighted CPL’s institutional knowledge and ability to capitalise on the trend.

“There has been a notable market-wide shift, particularly in the past year, towards clients and candidates favouring more flexible employment structures. In our view, CPL’s ability to capitalise on this trend highlights its commercial agility and long-standing capacity to deliver.”

CPL hit the headlines over the summer when a Channel 4 ‘Dispatches’ documentary showed members of its staff who were working with Facebook being instructed not to remove extreme, abusive or graphic content from the social media giant’s website – even though the material breached guidelines. There’s no sign in the results of an impact on the business as a result.

Chairman John Hennessy said that current market conditions of high demand for talent and low unemployment rates have been favourable.

After returning €25m to shareholders, CPL closed the year with a net cash balance of €24.2m, according to founder and CEO Anne Heraty.

“As the world of work evolves and employee and employer expectations change, the demand for flexibility has strengthened,” she said.

Flexible talent fees grew by 24.5pc to €56.9m during the year. Shares were up 2.66pc in late trading yesterday.