Operational review
PROFESSIONAL / EXECUTIVE
IT
Vedior’s IT consultants support clients at all stages of the IT product lifecycle, developing, installing or maintaining hardware and software. Expert technical personnel are provided in a full range of disciplines including software engineers, programmers, systems analysts, architects, testers, systems administrators and telecommunications professionals.
IT is Vedior’s largest professional/executive niche responsible for 10% of total Group sales.
IT recruitment sales increased organically by 27%. Positive growth was achieved in all major markets (even within the weaker recruitment markets), suggesting that IT recruitment growth is structural in nature given pent up demand to upgrade and develop new systems following a period of lower investment in technology during the economic downturn. The US is Vedior’s largest market for IT recruitment which it provides mostly through its national Sapphire brand. Sapphire has grown significantly during 2004.
In the UK, Vedior operates two IT brands, Abraxas and MVM, both of which achieved strong growth in sales and profits. Abraxas gained a large, potentially long-term, contract in the public sector.
PROFESSIONAL / EXECUTIVE
Accounting
Vedior provides both qualified and part-qualified accountants as well as all categories of financial personnel to accounting, finance, banking, consulting and other corporate clients. Accounting recruitment sales increased by 18% on an organic basis.
In the US, the Group has three accounting brands; Accountants Inc., Acsys and AccountPros providing Vedior with national coverage. The US accounting market has been challenging but 2004 saw all three companies achieve sales growth for the first time in more than three years.
In the Netherlands, Rekenmeesters’ performance reflected adverse market conditions which only started to improve at the end of the year. Elsewhere in continental Europe, our developing accounting recruitment businesses in Spain and Belgium have flourished while new operations in Germany, Portugal, Finland, Poland and Luxembourg show encouraging potential. In the UK, Joslin Rowe (part of the Blomfield Group, in which Vedior has an 18% interest), showed a strong increase in sales and profits.
In Australia, accounting recruitment is provided through our established Link brand which demonstrated solid growth in sales and profitability.
PROFESSIONAL / EXECUTIVE
Healthcare
Vedior’s healthcare services can be divided into two broad categories; qualified medical staff to private and public hospitals, and professional social workers and care staff for home and residential care centres.
Affected more by demographic rather than economic trends, Healthcare has been a strongly performing sector for the Group for some time and, in 2004, organic sales grew by 6%.
In France, L’Appel Médical has grown considerably over a five year period. However, in 2004, the market deteriorated due to budget cuts in clinics and hospitals with growth tailing off during the course of the year. Nevertheless, the company did well to improve operating income in a challenging market.
In the US, our healthcare recruitment brand, Clinical One, started 2004 with declining sales but moved into positive growth by the year end to finish the year with a slight decline in sales overall.
In the UK, trading remained strong for our nursing recruitment brand, Beresford Blake Thomas while Reliance, which operates exclusively in the social care sector held its market leading position despite weaker operating conditions.
In Australia, Select Care Personnel, a provider of health and social care recruitment, grew sales but experienced increased pricing pressure in a competitive environment.
Healthcare recruitment operations in Italy and Portugal which were launched in 2003 together with new initiatives in Belgium and Japan have established positive footprints for future growth. |