| Mon 14 May 2007, 12:16 | | KEL - Press Release - Kelly shines with maiden int |
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KEL
KEL
KEL - Press Release - Kelly shines with maiden interims
KELLY GROUP LIMITED
(Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa)
(Registration number: 1999/026249/06)
ISIN: ZAE000093373
Share Code: KEL
KELLY SHINES WITH MAIDEN INTERIMS
Johannesburg, 14 May 2007 - Recently listed comprehensive employment
services provider the Kelly Group has posted a strong set of results for the six
months to March on the back of robust performances in a buoyant market by its
core brands.
Compared to the first half of the previous year, turnover rose by 27% to R965
million, with the South African operations growing by 31% and those in the USA
by 16%. The overall EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax and depreciation)
margin improved from 4.87% to 5.64%, boosting EBITDA by 48% to R54 million.
Earnings per share (EPS) and headline earnings per share (HEPS) were both 19.2
cents, up respectively from 2.3 cents and 2.4 cents. After adjusting for
shareholder interest paid during the period, the growth in normalised EPS and
HEPS was 62.5%.
Chief executive Grenville Wilson said these results, which were in line with our
expectations, were a creditable performance.
"Kelly, our core brand and business backbone, continued its stellar performance,
giving us 41% growth in turnover and 63% in EBITDA from an already high base.
Strong productivity gains and improvements in administrative disciplines are
reflected in a significant increase in its EBITDA margin," Wilson said.
"Under a new management team PAG showed a substantial improvement in the second
quarter and half-year EBITDA was up 16% with further growth expected for the
full year. Our blue-collar business Kelly Industrial also bounced back from
some setbacks in the previous year, improving its EBITDA by 11%, and is well set
to exceed its budget for the year. InnStaff, which serves the hospitality
industry, continues to benefit from having achieved critical mass, reversing
last year`s loss at the halfway mark and also aims to beat its budget for the
year. At Accountants On Call, the strong focus on expanding the high-margin
permanent placement side of the business is producing the expected results, with
EBITDA rising by 41%."
The specialist financial recruitment company Frontline was acquired with effect
from 1 March 2007 to expand and strengthen the group`s existing presence in the
financial placement market.
Wilson noted that the group`s MSquared operation in California achieved 27%
growth in EBITDA for the first half but was seeing a slowdown in the rest of the
year, due to the completion of a significant project.
"Our short-term strategic imperatives now are to continue to optimise our
existing businesses, drive efficiencies, re-engineer our cost structure down,
and improve our customer and candidate acquisition channels. At the same time,
we are actively pursuing a number of new opportunities. Given the fragmented
nature of the industry and our relatively small market share, we see many
opportunities in segments where we are currently weak or not represented at all
for the Kelly Group," he said.
"In the meantime, our existing businesses are strongly positioned to capitalise
on the growth trends in our markets and we therefore expect that Kelly`s results
for the full year to September will again show strong growth."
For further information call
Grenville Wilson, CEO Kelly Group, on 011 722 8009
Issued by du Plessis Associates on behalf of Kelly Group Limited
dPA contact Helen McKane Tel : +27 11 728 4701, Fax: +27 11 728 2547, Mobile:
082 330 2034 or e-mail: kellygroup@dpapr.com
website : www.kellygroup.co.za
Date: 14/05/2007 12:16:02 Produced by the JSE SENS Department.
