FY17 Trading Update

SThree (STHR) SThree: FY17 Trading Update 15-Dec-2017 / 07:00 GMT/BST Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement that contains inside information according to REGULATION (EU) No 596/2014 (MAR), transmitted by EQS Group. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. 15 December 2017       FY17 Trading Update     SThree plc ("SThree" or the "Group"), the international specialist staffing business, is today issuing a trading update for the financial year ended 30 November 2017.   Highlights   Strong finish to the year with Group gross profit ("GP") up 8%* in Q4 Excellent Q4 performance in Continental Europe up 16%*, including Contract up 24%* Adjusted profit before tax for the year expected to be slightly ahead of current market consensus Group GP up 4%* for FY17 Strong growth in USA, up 18%*, with Permanent up 12%* and Contract up 21%* Robust growth in Continental Europe up 9%* driven by Netherlands up 20%* YoY Continued recovery in Energy up 25%* and solid growth in Life Sciences up 7%* 80% of Group GP generated from markets outside the UK&I (2016: 75%) UK&I continued to be challenging, impacted by IR35 in the public sector Contract GP up 10%* Growth across all sectors Continental Europe up 17%* and USA up 21%* Strong exit rate on Contract, with a new record number of runners at year end, up 12% Permanent GP down 8%*, with average sales headcount down 10% Group period-end sales headcount up 10% YoY and up 7% sequentially vs Q3 2017   1 Market expectations for adjusted profit before tax for the year ended 30 November 2017 are in the range of £42.0m to £45.6m, with a consensus of £43.8m     Gary Elden, Chief Executive, commented: "We have delivered an encouraging overall result for the year, and now expect full year profit to be slightly ahead of consensus.  Strong performances in the USA and Continental Europe, particularly from our market-leading business in the Netherlands and our business in Germany, were key to the delivery of this result.  Our Contract business continued to perform robustly, with GP increasing by 10%* year on year and with contract runners at the period end reaching in excess of ten thousand, a milestone for the Group.   "Looking ahead to 2018, the momentum of our Contract business and the strength of our performances in the USA and Continental Europe leave us well-positioned for growth."     Financial Highlights -                   Group Gross Profit                         FY 2017   Q4 2017 Q3 2017 Q2 2017 Q1 2017     Gross Profit FY 2017 FY 2016 YoY % 1   YoY % 1 YoY % 1 YoY % 1 YoY % 1                           Contract £203.4m £173.6m +10%   +14% +9% +9% +7%     Permanent £84.2m £85.1m -8%   -5% -6% -6% -14%     Group £287.6m £258.7m +4%   +8% +5% +4% -                           UK&I £55.6m £64.0m -14%   -12% -10% -14% -19%     Continental Europe £150.6m £127.6m +9%   +16% +6% +7% +7%     USA £64.4m £50.7m +18%   +17% +20% +20% +12%     Asia Pac & Middle East £17.0m £16.4m -4%   -7% +1% +5% -14%     Group £287.6m £258.7m +4%   +8% +5% +4% -                             ICT   £124.6m   £115.8m   +1%     +1%   +1%   +1%   +2%     Banking & Finance £43.5m £41.7m -2%   -1% +1% -1% -8%     Energy £26.5m £19.6m +25%   +51% +35% +23% -8%     Engineering £25.9m £23.3m +5%   +11% +5% +3% -1%     Life Sciences £62.4m £54.3m +7%   +13% +3% +7% +4%     Other3 £4.7m £4.0m +15%   +19% +24% +13% +4%     Group £287.6m £258.7m +4%   +8% +5% +4% -                           Contract / Perm Split                     Contract 71% 67%                 Permanent 29% 33%                   100% 100%                                       Geographical Split                     UK&I 20% 25%                 Continental Europe 52% 49%                 USA 22% 20%                 Asia Pac & Middle East 6% 6%                   100% 100%                                       Sector Split                     ICT 44% 45%                 Banking & Finance 15% 16%                 Energy 9% 8%                 Engineering 9% 9%                 Life Science 22% 21%                 Other 1% 1%                   100% 100%                                             FY 2017   Q4 2017 Q3 2017 Q2 2017 Q1 2017     Operating Metrics FY 2017 FY 2016 YoY %   YoY % YoY % YoY % YoY %                           Contract Runners2                     UK&I 2,616 2,663 -2%   -2% -7% -6% -8%     Continental Europe 5,535 4,572 +21%   +21% +18% +19% +19%     USA 1,552 1,363 +14%   +14% +24% +23% +14%     Asia Pac & Middle East 494 480 +3%   +3% +19% +25% +19%     Group 10,197 9,078 +12%   +12% +11% +12% +9%                                                 1 *At constant currency                   2 Period-end number of contractors onsite with clients           3 Other includes Procurement & Supply Chain and Sales & Marketing                                           Business performance   Group GP for the year was up 4%* as we experienced strong growth in Continental Europe and the USA, while UK&I and APAC & ME remained challenging.   Contract GP was up 10%*, with growth across all sectors. Contract growth was driven by Continental Europe, which was up 17%* and by USA up 21%*. Continental Europe and USA combined now represent 70% of our contract runners (2016: 65%).   Permanent GP was down 8%*, with average sales headcount down 10%.  USA posted a 12%* increase, driven by supportive Energy and Banking markets. This was offset by declines in all other regions, with Continental Europe down 7%* and UK&I down 22%*. Our Permanent productivity per head improved by 3%* over last year.   Group period end sales headcount was up 10% to 2,257, with Contract up 15% and Permanent up 3%. Contract represented 65% of total sales headcount at the period end.  Sequentially vs Q3 2017, period end Group sales headcount was up 7%, with Continental Europe up 12%, USA up 4% and UK&I down 2%. Average Group sales heads for the year were down 1%.   Support functions relocation   A proposed relocation of our central support functions from London to Glasgow was announced in early November at an estimated total exceptional cost of £13m, with circa £7m recognised in 2017 as an exceptional item with most of the balance expected to be recognised in 2018. Annualised savings of £4-5m are anticipated from 2019.   Foreign exchange impact   The Group experienced a translational FX benefit of circa £19m on GP during the year, as a result of the strengthening of the euro and US dollar versus sterling.   Balance sheet SThree remains in a strong financial position. Net cash at 30 November 2017 was circa £6m (30 November 2016: £10m). The Group has a £50m revolving credit facility ("RCF") with HSBC and Citibank, which is committed to 2019. Office Network The Group has a network of 40 offices in 16 countries, of which 32 are outside the UK. The Group generated 80% of GP for the period from markets outside the UK&I (2016: 75%).    *at constant currency   SThree is hosting an analyst conference call today at 0830 GMT. The details are as follows:   Telephone number: [phone]   For access to the call please quote passcode SThree   A replay facility will be available for seven days on [phone] Passcode: 3205004#                The Group will issue its results for the financial year ended 30 November 2017 on 29 January 2018.   - Ends -     Enquiries:    SThree plc 020 7268 6000  Gary Elden, Chief Executive Officer    Alex Smith, Chief Financial Officer    Sarah Anderson, Deputy Company Secretary/IR Enquiries      Citigate Dewe Rogerson 020 7638 9571  Kevin Smith/Jos Bieneman       Notes to editors   SThree is a leading international specialist staffing business, providing permanent and contract specialist staff to a diverse client base of over 7,000 clients. From its well-established position as a major player in the information and communications technology ('ICT') sector the Group has broadened the base of its operations to include businesses serving the Banking & Finance, Energy, Engineering and Life Sciences sectors.   Since launching its original business, Computer Futures, in 1986, the Group has adopted a multi-brand strategy, establishing new operations to address growth opportunities. SThree brands include Computer Futures, Huxley Associates, Progressive and The Real Staffing Group. The Group has circa 2,700 employees in sixteen countries.   SThree plc is quoted on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority under the ticker symbol STHR and also has a US level one ADR facility, symbol SERTY.     Important notice   Certain statements in this announcement are forward looking statements. By their nature, forward looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. Forward looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. Certain data from the announcement is sourced from unaudited internal management information and is before any exceptional items. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements.  Â

ISIN:	GB00B0KM9T71
Category Code:	FR
TIDM:	STHR
LEI Code:	2138003NEBX5VRP3EX50
Sequence No.:	5022

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End of Announcement	EQS News Service

639275  15-Dec-2017