CVO Group reports 78% increase in first half year revenues

CVO Group reports 78% increase in first half year revenues
CVO Group (www.cvogroup.com), Central and Eastern Europeís leading integrated recruitment company reports Euro 964k first half-year revenues, 78% increase vs. the same period in 2001, even as overall recruitment market shrinks. 1st half 2002 up 35% vs. 2nd half 2001.

Continued growth is attributed to CVO Groupís unique client service model of providing integrated recruitment services through 3 core brands and backed by state of the art technology. CV Online, the Groupís online recruitment division, continued to perform well, reaching euro702k in 1H 2002, 47% above the same period in 2001. This continued growth shows the pay-off of the extra focus on client service in CV Onlineís online recruitment model, as CV Online was able to increase its revenues most strongly in those countries where it not only faces strong competition, but also the recent economic slowdown was apparent ( 112% growth in the Czech Republic, 59% in Hungary, 32% in Estonia). Appreciation of the service by clients has placed CV Online as the lead revenue earner in most of their markets, and is unquestionably the leading online recruitment solutions provider in Central and Eastern Europe. CV Online has over 7 million pageviews each month, 300,000 registered users and a database of 150,000 CVs.

The other pillar of the Groupís success was the continued growth of the Professional People division, a mid level recruitment consultancy with an office network uniquely spread across the region, focusing on sourcing junior to mid level professionals. The division (which started 10 months ago) reached revenues of euro262k in 1H 2002. Professional People services are enhanced by the Groupís expertise in technology, thus providing faster traditional recruitment with an increased chance of finding the right candidates, given the Groupís sizeable online database. Professional People is increasingly contributing to the Groupís revenue, reaching nearly 30% of total Group revenues in 1H 2002.

ìThe past 18 months have been difficult for the recruitment industry as a whole across Central and Eastern Europe. Despite the difficulties presented by the market CVO Group employees have proven their ability to provide an excellent service to customers and to continue to take market share from competitors. CVO Groupís range of services also combine to provide a range of recruitment solutions which are ideally suited to companies who are increasingly looking for technology driven solutions from their recruitment suppliers,î said Norrie Sinclair, Group CEO.