Northern Recruitment Share Discussion Threads

[david77] 22/2/2005 16:43

Women-run firms lead the way
This is Money
22 February 2005
SMALL and medium-sized firms run by women have enjoyed a bigger sales growth in recent months and have recruited more workers than other companies, new research showed today.

A survey of 12,000 business organisations revealed that 44% of those led by women recorded sales growth in the third quarter of last year, compared to an average of 37%.

Almost three out of 10 female-led firms recruited workers in the same quarter, 10% more than the total number of companies surveyed.

Nick Goulding, chief executive of the Forum of Private Business, which helped with the research, said the report gave strong evidence that the Government was right to adopt measures to encourage female entrepreneurs to set up in business.

'It is vital we see more women going into business and driving the UK economy,' he said. 'If women started up businesses at the same rate as men, 150,000 extra new firms would be created every year.'

The study, the Small Business Research Trust Quarterly Report also revealed the industries female owner managers are drawn to. The three main sectors being wholesale and retail (34.8%), real estate (21%) and education/health (15%).

[fozzie] 22/2/2005 16:33

The secret of great comedy momentos......timing.

CR - i see the robbie burns effect over at BCS this afternoon, tipped on the site and whoosh up the shares go from 2.30pm onwards. Proves the effect that he really does have on small stocks, certainly from a buying viewpoint.

[momentos] 22/2/2005 16:24

FFS. Should have kept my mouth shut really.

[momentos] 22/2/2005 15:53

Amazing how the share price has held despite the selling.

[rivaldo] 21/2/2005 14:51

Ta madmix.

Generally encouraging article from the Scottish Herald. NRG have Glasgow and Edinburgh offices. Glasgow general recruitment is going great guns, whilst Edinburgh isn't. But this last section sounds very encouraging, particularly given NRG's employment specialisms:


"In January, recruitment consultancies reported stronger demand for all types of permanent employees, apart from secretarial and clerical staff. The strongest improvement in demand – for both permanent and temporary staff – was again seen for nursing, medical and care workers.
Conducted by NTC, the labour market report is based on a monthly survey of more than 100 recruitment and employment consultants and is seasonally adjusted."

[madmix] 21/2/2005 12:27

Hi,

Unfortunately Comdirect don't give a breakdown of forecasts, only the consensus - but it does mention that this is based on the figures from two brokers.

[madmix] 21/2/2005 11:31

Hi,

Comdirect now showing new higher broker consensus forecast as follows :
2005 Sales £25.4m EBIT £3.8m eps 16.6p Net Cash £10.0m Div 4.1p
2006 Sales £27.0m EBIT £4.3m eps 18.8p Net Cash £12.4m Div 5.5p
So, forward PE now below 12 with more than one-quarter of the market cap to be covered by cash.

Cheers,

Chris

[rivaldo] 18/2/2005 10:23

That's OK momentos - just consolidating at this new level imo. You just have to look at the chart to see that NRG also trod water for a while at 130p-140p (my entry point) - now we're 60% up.

The potential for another 40% here remains undiminished. Last year there was a trading statment on 28th April. Not far away. In the meantime there could be news on all those bids/tenders that NRG have flagged, and there's also news on what's going to happen with the cash pile to look forward to.

[momentos] 18/2/2005 09:55

Not in HTP - only cos I haven't really looked and money working elsewhere. Will keep an eye.

We appear to be treading water here!

[saturn5] 16/2/2005 19:12

fozzie

that sounds a\ nice job "freelance headhunter" ie a sort of canibal

[fozzie] 16/2/2005 19:07

Are you in HTP as well momentous? must admit i bought 5k woth 12 months ago and have been very dissapointed with them. I could have made a bigger return by sticking a pin in the FT. I havent got unlimited funds and to have approx 8% of my portfolio treading water whilst virtually everything else has gone great guns is not good. I need some money to top up on XNC/ACS and they may have to go. Regards, Foz.

[momentos] 16/2/2005 18:59

I think a takeout price for this firm would need to be nearing GBP5. Shows how undervalued it is.

NRG have made similar comments to Spring.

[fozzie] 16/2/2005 18:56

A good article by Jo Wallen on Citywire ref 'Spring Group'. An interview with ceo Richard barfield forms the basis of the comment but it is positive for the sector as a whole. He says that Spring are not interested in high debt carrying smaller recruiters like Harvey Nash, Quantica, Parity etc. and that organic growth is the better option although he is looking abroad for opportunities to expand, given that Spring had 22million cash at June 04. The tone of the article is very positive and he obviously feels that we are entering a very profitable time for recruiters, 'with contractors pulling the strings and in great demand once again'.

Incidentally, talking to a chap in the pub the other night, who turned out to be a freelance headhunter, we eventually started to talk about shares and i mentioned NRG to him. He knew of them, reckoned they were extremely good at wahat they did and added that he wouldnt be at all surprised to see them taken over at some point. Ho-hum....

Regards, Foz.

[momentos] 16/2/2005 16:24

Still holding up despite the selling.

[momentos] 16/2/2005 08:07

Thanks Jack. Shows a bit more perception than Shares Magazine.

[jack green] 15/2/2005 21:13

Charles Stanley report follows. Not much new info, but still worth a read IMHO. Quite long, suggest you read the last 3 paras if nothing else.

Northern Recruitment Group – (NRG.L) Full – Support Services. Price: 225p. 12 Month Rec: Buy. Market Cap (£m): £38m. Long Term Rec: Buy. Reason for Comment: Interim results – Meeting with company

NRG announced interim results at the end of last month. In an active sector, NRG is a well-run operation. Among the salient points that came out of a meeting with the company were. ► Demand remained robust - with NE heartland showing particular buoyancy ► Substantial increase in permanent recruitment ► Pre-tax profit rose by 63% to £1.65m on turnover up by 1% to £11m. ► Operating margin increased to 13.8% from 8.8% ► EPS increased by 58% to 6.5p. ► Cash balances increased to £6.3m.

Temporary Recruitment turnover fell by 1% to £8.3m, reflecting the impact of the loss of a key contract with Samsung, the impact of which was £1.2m. The remaining business reported temporary revenues up by 15%, with the gross margin rising by 1%.

Permanent Recruitment reported an increase in fees of 24% on a like-for-like basis. Gross profit from permanent recruitment increased by 6.5%. Costs fell by 12%. Core business revenues rose by 58% reflecting growth in both the public and private sectors. NRG Connect which serves major projects in the public sector reported a fall in revenues of 300%. This was due to different project completion dates and lower client activity.

Operating performance
NRG Public Sector – It has performed well in its markets of the public and not-for-profit sectors. It works with the Inland Revenue and a number of other government departments and local bodies. Its clients are drawn from local and central government. It has seen strong demand for both senior and high volume placements. It secured a number of new projects in the period with ODPM, Scottish Water and the DTI.

NRG Professional Services – It has reported a successful period. It operates in both senior executive selection and specific areas like Finance, IT and Human Resources. It has undertaken a PLC Finance director appointment, a number of regional development agency appointments and has filled a range of public sector non executive appointments.

NRG Volume Contracts – This operation specialises in call centres which have seen strong growth in the North East. It works with a number of established customers offering both permanent and temporary staff. It works with Barclays, EDF Energy and Northern Rock among others. It has also secured a number of new customers including Newcastle Building Society, Parkdean, RAC and npower among others.

NRG Flexible Resourcing – This operation provides temporary staff and has secured a number of new contracts in the period. These have helped to replace the contract with Samsung.

NRG Connect – This is a national response handling unit which is one of the UK's largest. It operates a 110 seat call centre in Newcastle. It serves both the public and private sector for organisations with a requirement for high volume recruitment. It operates an ongoing contact centre for the Inland Revenue. It has done a start-up emergency call handling centre for the Strathclyde Police.

NRG City – This offers professional support staff on both a temporary and permanent basis. It has performed well in the period. It operates in four centres Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Tees Valley which was opened in October. Its clients include Sage, TSG, Go-Ahead Group, One NorthEast, Weight Watchers and Ringtons.

The group has opened a new office in Teesdale Park, Stockton which is well placed to serve the main business centres of the Tees Valley. It offers expertise in Professional Services, Technical, Scientific and Call Centre Solutions as well as City staff. Its York office continues to perform well delivering contract work predominantly in the public sector across the Yorkshire region. In NRG Scotland it has reported an improved performance in Glasgow although there is scope for improvement in its Edinburgh operation.

The future strategy is for organic growth. It has considered a number of acquisitions but is not looking to replicate its existing operations. It prefers to develop its niche operations. There is scope to develop its NRG Connect operations. There is also scope to develop its Public Sector and HR Consultancy operations. There is also further scope in Scotland as well as to expand its City brand.

Regarding the trading outlook, there is a strong permanent pipeline from both public and private sectors. It has recently won a new major contract with central government and it also has a number of significant bids and tenders outstanding. The group is looking to increase its senior team and to look at new business opportunities. According to the group it sees a buoyant market in all sectors.

The shares have performed well over the last year, rising by 50%, outperforming the FTSE All-Share by 31%.

[momentos] 14/2/2005 22:33

Cheers R, will keep an eye on CFT. I worked on an oil contract once with a bunch of process engineers - interesting to see how the industry was structured and what depends on what etc etc.

I like my fundies so I'll have a good look first cos it looks like you & CR have already taken 100% profit lol! Doesnt mean there isn't more to come.....

[rivaldo] 14/2/2005 22:21

LOL! Hey, don't diss the Dogg - respect...(well you wouldn't want to be on his wrong side, would you?)

Ta for the compliment by the way momentos - I find it's useful to do one of those summaries every so often as it re-focuses me on whether the stock is still a buy or not. And NRG certainly is.

OT : Have you looked at CFT (fully listed, so ISA-ble)? TNT was in and out quickly, but I think it's got a long way to go yet.

[renegade master] 14/2/2005 17:38

(unless I sell!)

[momentos] 14/2/2005 16:43

Only 1p gain for all the buying! MMs must have had a few to offload after all.

Anyway we look to be heading north again 9p till we breakout again.

[momentos] 14/2/2005 12:21

Apart from IC Buy & SM sell & existing Naked Trader tips, don't think so.

Maybe its due to your quality analysis above Rivaldo. It sets the case out well!

[rivaldo] 14/2/2005 12:14

Interesting trading this morning - a number of small-ish buys. Has NRG been tipped somewhere (apart from on this board!)?

[momentos] 14/2/2005 11:16

1500 @ 226.13 - over 225 offer ?!?! Online limits zero - cant get a quote. Strange...