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December 14, 2020
SThree plc, a UK-based STEM recruiting company active in the US, reported net fees, or gross profit, down 8% in its 2020 fiscal year ended November 30 in mid-March. Covid-19 pandemic. However, the company noted that business trends strengthened in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter.
| (millions of pounds sterling) | FISCAL 2020 | FISCAL 2019 | % cash | Fiscal year 2020 (millions of US dollars) |
| Germany, Austria and Switzerland | £ 105.8 | £ 109.3 | -3% | $ 140.8 |
| EMEA excluding Germany, Austria and Switzerland | £ 117.8 | £ 141.2 | -16% | $ 156.8 |
| we | £ 77.2 | £ 76.7 | 2% | $ 102.7 |
| Asia Pacific | £ 10.1 | £ 15.2 | -26% | $ 13.4 |
| Total | £ 310.9 | £ 342.4 | -8% | $ 413.7 |
The United States was a beacon of hope for SThree with a gross margin up 2% for the full year; it was the only geographic area to report an increase. US gross profit also increased year-over-year when looking at the fourth quarter alone; it increased by 11%.
Performance in the US was bolstered by SThree’s life sciences business, whose gross profit for the year increased 16%; the company cited strong demand in clinical operations, product development and quality assurance. The company also said that its technology business’s gross profit increased 9% with increased demand for mobile apps and software development. Engineering grew 1% in the United States.
However, the gross margin is down in the other geographies. The company noted that the decline in Asia-Pacific was due to the more transactional nature of its business in Japan, which is 94% direct leasing.
Gross margin by contract and permanent staff
| (millions of pounds sterling) | FISCAL 2020 | FISCAL 2019 | % cash | Fiscal year 2020 (millions of US dollars) |
| Contract | £ 235.3 | £ 254.6 | -7% | $ 313.1 |
| Permanent | £ 75.6 | £ 87.8 | -13% | $ 100.6 |
Share price and market capitalization
SThree shares closed 0.85% higher at £ 295.50 (US $ 390.81), but were still 24.71% below their 52-week high. The company had a market capitalization of 389.5 million pounds sterling (515.1 million US dollars).
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