Acorn's parent company shows sharp growth for 2015

Acorn’s parent company, Synergie, a leader in Human Resources Management, which now has a network of 600 agencies, generated a turnover of €1,798.9 million in 2015, and increase close to 8% compared to 2014 (on-like-for-like basis), substantially outperforming in its international activity.

Synergie has continued to expand strongly in all European countries, achieving turnover of €874.9 million, representing overall growth of 13.2% , posting particularly strong performances in countries where it is solidly established such as Italy (+22%), Belgium (+16%) and Spain (+16%).

Turnover in France came out at €924.0 million, with a sharp recovery in the 4^th quarter.

Sharp rise in net profit

The Group’s high business volumes, together with better cost control, gave a substantial boost to current operating profit, which reached €92.7 million (+21.4%) for the full year, representing nearly 5% of turnover for the first time.

Consolidated operating profit grew by 21% to €89 million, with France, where profitability was favoured, contributing to €65.4 million.

Due to these excellent results, net profit after tax rose by 17%, to offer €60.1 million, confirming the relevance of the strategic decisions taken in France and in the other 14 countries where the Group is now present.

In the high-growth sectors, thanks to investments in the aeronautics, renewable energy and specialised services areas, as well as the development of the Open Centres and Global Cross Sourcing (international secondment of skills), Synergie’s customers can now rely on a fully integrated international network.

With shareholders’ equity of more than €320 million and strongly positive net cash (minus all debt) to €47.1 million (i.e. €105.8 million including the CICE which can be used) Synergie has the resources it needs to pursue its expansion in France and abroad.

Outlook for 2016

Synergie continued to perform in all of its markets in the early months of the year, with particularly strong growth in France, where the network once again outperformed the market. The implementation of the new global services offering resulting from 2014 / 2015 action plan has produced results, confirming recruitment and high-value added placement as a major area for growth.

In this context, the Group is pursuing its strategy of rolling out into dynamic regions and sectors, particularly outside France, and is also actively seeking takeover targets, in particular to enable it to become stronger in countries where the Group is already present; Synergie aims to achieve turnover of close to €2 billion in this financial year.

The Germany company Cavallo, which generates annual turnover of €25 million and which was integrated at the beginning of this year, is fully in line with the Group’s development objectives in Germany, where Synergie aims to be a major player on a national scale.

Matt Southall, Acorn’s Group Managing Director, said: “we are delighted that here in the UK, Acorn is well-placed to continue making a significant contribution to the on-going achievements of Synergie.

“Already this year, we’ve witnessed a number of highlights, including the introduction of ‘In-site’, a new forum in response to the growing skills crisis in the construction industry and launching our brand new Legal Division.

“We remain fully dedicated to providing the highest levels of service and work incredibly hard to achieve measurable results for both our clients and candidates – 2016 will be no different.”