OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
Strong full year performance with excellent operating profit growth and an improved cash performance.
Adjusted operating profit up 39% year on year ("YoY") to £41.5m (2014: £29.8m) with adjusted operating profit conversion ratio up 3.9% points to 17.6% (2014: 13.7%)
Group gross profit ("GP") up 11%* YoY and ahead by 17%* excluding Energy
o Continued strong growth across ICT (+19%* YoY) and Life Sciences (+20%* YoY) offsetting weak performance in Energy (-19%* YoY)
o Continued strong performance in the Americas (+26%* YoY), now representing 19% of Group GP (2014: 15%)
Contract GP up 17%* YoY and ahead by 21%* excluding Energy
o Continued strong growth in contractor runners, up 11% YoY to 8,412 at year-end (2014: 7,573), giving a strong platform for 2016
o Contract now accounts for 64% of Group GP (2014: 61%)
Permanent GP up 3%* YoY; with Permanent GP excluding Energy up 11%* YoY
Group year-end sales headcount up 8% YoY at 2,244 (2014: 2,081) and average sales headcount up 6% YoY at 2,117 (2014: 2,002) driven by increased Contract and reduced Permanent heads
Good progress on productivity per consultant, up 6%* YoY
Strongly improved balance sheet position with year-end net cash of £6.2m, up £16.1m YoY (2014: net debt of £9.9m), despite adverse FX movements.
