Under the Radar: SGX-listed HRnetGroup’s Chief Corporate Officer sheds light on the recruitment and staffing landscape, lowering revenues and improving margins

The Evening Runway with Hongbin Jeong, Roshan Gidwani and Chua Tian Tian

The recruitment and staffing landscape is in focus as we speak to one of the leading talent acquisition and management firms here in Asia.

Founded in 1992, HRnetGroup helps business leaders, hiring managers and job seekers build stronger companies, successful careers and better workplace cultures.

The firm’s business segments can be split into two, namely flexible staffing or the provision of temporary manpower solutions to companies, as well as professional recruitment, where it sources permanent staff for corporate staff.

The Singapore headquartered and SGX listed firm started off as a 4-man team and grew to a headcount of over 900 consultants across 17 Asian cities, such as Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul and more.

Its business portfolio includes 14 brands such as HRnetOne, SearchAsia, and Yespay.

HRnetGroup had in February posted a 7.1 per cent year-on-year increase in net profit to S$35.3 million for the second half of 2023 driven by strong profit margins.

That’s even as revenue for the period fell 4.7 per cent on the year to S$283.7 million amid tough economic conditions and sector-wide profit downgrades.

It also noted that revenue trends were patchy. So how does the firm assess its road ahead, especially amid news of global firms streamlining their operations this year? Which brands continue to make meaningful contributions to the group?

Meanwhile, the firm had in 2022 acquired stakes in a number of businesses, such as a majority stake in local cloud-based workforce management software firm Octomate.

It also co-invested half a million Singapore dollars into the flexible staffing business of Recruit First Indonesia that year. But how far have the acquisitions reaped financial gains for the firm? And what’s next on the firm’s to buy list?

On Under the Radar, The Evening Runway’s finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Adeline Sim, Chief Corporate Officer, HRnetGroup Limited.

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