Revenue at Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. rose 4.0% in the company’s fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021. The Tokyo-based staffing firm owns jobs websites Indeed and Glassdoor as well as several staffing businesses across the globe including Staffmark in the US; it also has nonstaffing business lines in the publishing industry.
In today’s announcement, Recruit said it’s expecting gradual growth ahead, although faster growth is anticipated for the segment with Indeed and Glassdoor.
| (¥billions) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change | Q4 2020 (US$ millions) |
| Revenue | ¥613.1 | ¥589.7 | 4.0% | $5,560.8 |
| Gross margin | 52.2% | 54.7% | ||
| Profit for the period | ¥13.9 | ¥13.5 | 2.6% | $126.1 |
“Although the vaccination rollout has progressed and some industries and countries, including the US, are experiencing recent strength in hiring demand and increased consumer spending, the spread of new Covid-19 variants continues,” according to Recruit. “As a result, the company expects the global economy’s recovery and stabilization will be gradual.”
Revenue by segment
| (¥billions) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change | Q4 2020 (US$ millions) |
| HR Technology (Indeed and Glassdoor) | ¥131.1 | ¥106.3 | 23.3% | $1,189.1 |
| Media & Solutions | ¥179.3 | ¥192.8 | -7.0% | $1,626.3 |
| Staffing | ¥309.3 | ¥297.7 | 3.9% | $2,805.4 |
In particular, the company noted fourth-quarter revenue rose in its HR technology segment due to a surge in hiring demand from small- and midsize businesses in the US. Job postings on Indeed were up 13.5% by March 26 compared to Feb. 1, 2020. However, the company expects revenue in the segment to grow faster in the upcoming fiscal year.
“At the same time, job seeker activity continued to be constrained by factors including the fear of contracting Covid-19 and childcare responsibilities, while government financial support may have played an increasing role in job seeker search behavior,” according to Recruit. “This created an imbalance between the number, type and location of jobs offered by employers and the number of people seeking those jobs.”
Seventy-five percent of business in the segment during the full year came from the US, according to Recruit.
Staffing revenue
| (¥billions) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change | Q4 2020 (US$ millions) |
| Staffing (Japan) | ¥142.5 | ¥143.6 | -0.8% | $1,292.5 |
| Staffing (Overseas) | ¥166.8 | ¥154.0 | 8.3% | $1,512.9 |
Overseas staffing revenue rose 2.9% excluding the impact of currencies; the company cited strong growth in certain industries.
Full-year results
| (¥billions) | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | % change | FY 2020 (US$millions) |
| Revenue | ¥2,269.3 | ¥2,399.4 | -5.4% | $20,583 |
| Gross margin | 50.5% | 53.9% | ||
| Profit for the year | ¥131.6 | ¥181.2 | -27.3% | $1,194 |
Guidance
Recruit forecast that revenue for the full-year 2021 will increase by between 8.0% and 14.6% from the previous year. HR technology revenue is forecast to rise by between 40% and 50% on a US dollar basis. Oversees staffing revenue is forecast to rise between 5% and 10% year over year. Japanese staffing revenue is forecast to be flat.
Share price and market cap
Shares in Recruit closed down 2.90% today in Tokyo at ¥4,787 (US$43.77); they were 14.03% below their 52-week high, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of ¥8.36 trillion (US$76.44 billion).