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The year to 30 June 2006 was a very good one for Cpl. The Group has delivered its best results to date, producing very substantial growth in turnover, net fee income and profits. The key highlights for the period include:
The Group’s increased revenue and gross profit reflect substantial increases in profitable activity across all sectors and markets, and a strong performance in each of our principal business areas, being the placement of contract, temporary and permanent employees with clients. Net fee income in our permanent placement business increased by 39% over the prior year, with all divisions
performing well. This performance has been helped by increased demand for IT, telecoms and finance
professionals. Our contractor and temporary fees have increased by 42%, reflecting growth in the demand
for non-permanent staff in all areas, including office management and administration, customer service,
engineering, healthcare and manufacturing operations, and for temporary staff in the pharmaceutical,
biotechnology, clinical research and medical device industries. Newer areas of our business also performed
well in the period. These included Cpl Managed Services, which manages selected business processes
(including call centres, administrative services and recruitment solutions) on behalf of clients.
The Group had cash balances of €21.3 million at 30 June 2006. Notwithstanding the working capital demands associated with strong growth in business activity, this figure is €9.6 million higher than the corresponding balance at 30 June 2005. Our excellent business development team is supported by strong back office personnel who have ensured that the 41% growth in revenue has resulted in only a 6% increase in trade debtors. As we noted in our 2005 annual report, the Group’s ability to generate growth and profits is linked closely to the performance of the Irish economy, and we have benefited from growth in most of the sectors in which we operate. The fact that a 41% increase in revenue resulted in an almost doubling of pre-tax profits year on year demonstrates the Group’s ability to grow our business aggressively while maintaining rigorous cost control. One of Cpl’s central tenets is our commitment to quality people. We believe that in order to source and place the best people and to provide the best service to our clients we must recruit, train and retain the very best people in our own business. Over the years we have invested significantly in people whose efforts and abilities align with those of the Group itself. As Cpl continues to deliver growth we will maintain our focus on investment in people. Cpl is a much larger, more diverse and more robust business than it was a few years ago. Our management and staff face and overcome daily challenges in continuing to deliver profitable growth. We remain confident in our ability to take advantage of favourable economic conditions and to identify and pursue opportunities for further growth, whether organically or by acquisition. Cpl’s success is the result of having the best people in the business and we are very grateful for their dedication, skill and sustained commitment to the Group. Their continuing efforts to deliver top class service to all our clients and customers have made us Ireland’s leading provider of employment services. I would also like to extend the appreciation of the Board to our customers for their continued loyalty and support. The Board is recommending a final dividend of 1.5 cent per share. The dividend will be payable on 5 October 2006 to shareholders on the company’s register at the close of business on the record date of 15 September 2006. The final dividend together with the interim dividend of 1.4 cent per share, amounts to a total dividend of 2.9 cent per share.
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