First-quarter revenue rose 18.7% at HireQuest Inc. (NASDAQ: HQI), a franchisor of staffing firms, but net income fell 49.0% at the Goose Creek, South Carolina-based company.
| Q1 2020 | Q1 2019 | % change | |
| Revenue | $4,119,981 | $3,472,250 | 18.7% |
| Net income | $875,178 | $1,717,484 | -49.0% |
Franchise royalties rose 17.4% to $3.7 million.
HireQuest noted it placed a reserve of $1.4 million on notes receivable issued to finance the sale of offices acquired in its merger with Command Center. The move came as a result of Covid-19’s negative impact on the economy.
Share price and market cap
Shares in HireQuest were down 4.15% to $6.45 as of 11:55 a.m. Eastern time; the company had a market cap of $91.2 million, according to FT.com.