SThree net fees climbs in Q2; names new finance chief

SThree plc (LON: STEM) said on Monday its net fees in the second quarter climbed by 22% as the COVID-19 restrictions started to ease and companies resumed new hiring.

SThree plc opened about 2.5% up in the stock market on Monday but lost almost half of the intraday gain, later on, to trade at a per-share price of 470 pence. In comparison, the £627 million company had started the year at a much lower 299 pence per share.

H1 net fees was up 10% compared to the last year

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Compared to levels seen in 2019 (pre-pandemic), net fees, as per SThree plc, jumped 8% in Q2. For the first half of the ongoing year, net fees came in 10% higher than the same period last year and 3% higher than 2019 levels.

Other notable figures in SThree’s financial update on Monday include an 8% annualised growth Contract business net fees and an 18% year over year growth in the Permanent business. According to CEO Mark Dorman:

“This is a considerable achievement given the ongoing volatility of the external markets we operate in globally and is testament to the hard work of our people, our unwavering focus on the quality of our service and the continued strength of demand for the exceptional candidates we work with and their STEM skills.”

In separate news, Draper Esprit said on Monday its portfolio exceeded £900 million for the first time.

SThree named Andrew Beach as its new CFO

SThree also named Andrew Beach as its new chief financial officer on Monday. Beach is scheduled to replace Alex Smith on 5^th July and has served previously in a similar capacity at Hyve Group plc. Chairman James Bilefield said: 

“We look forward to working with Andrew in taking the Group forward to its next stage of growth and development. An accomplished CFO, Andrew’s focus on driving growth, best practice and delivery of data-led performance management will be central to the delivery of our core purpose to bring skilled people together to build the future.”

The specialist staffing business expressed confidence on Monday that it will declare an interim dividend on 19^th July when the London-listed company will publish its interim financial results. For fiscal 202, SThree plc had declared 5 pence per share of a final dividend in January. It valued its net cash at the end of Q2 at £48 million versus £31 million last year.