We remain mildly in awe of the way that CEO Russell Clements has steered SThree from being a successful pure-play UK ITSA (IT staff agency) into an even more successful international, multi-discipline recruitment company, so doing through good times and bad. And 2011 had a bit of both, with a bright H1 and a difficult H2. Nonetheless, SThree ended the year (to 27th November 2011) with headline revenues 14% higher, at £542m, net fee income (NFI, i.e. gross) margins up almost a point to 36.0%, and operating margins fully a point higher at 5.5%. All organic, by the way.
ICT recruitment is now down to 60% of NFI, while 63% of NFI derives from outside of the UK&I, and the trend away from ICT and the UK will continue. Not that SThree is trying to shake off its roots in UK ICT; Clements still expects that side of the business to grow, albeit at a statelier pace than almost every other segment. Indeed, Clements feels that the domestic business “does not require high rates of GDP growth to post strong growth”, which is just as well!