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1-20 of 20
Buying more shares in Staffline. Is that a good idea?
Maybank re-initiates &lsquo buy&rsquo on HRnetGroup with TP of 87 cents
Maybank analyst Eric Ong has re-initiated coverage on HRnetGroup (SGX:CHZ) with a &ldquo buy&rdquo call and a target price of 87 cents. The Mainboard-listed recruitment agency was founded in 1992 and went public in 2017.
&ldquo Beyond just being a regional recruiter, we believe HRnet is structurally difficult to replicate,&rdquo writes Ong in an April 19 report, noting that the company operates on a co-ownership model involving 47 business leaders holding equity stakes in HRnetGroup.
This model ensures that HRnetGroup&rsquo s managers are incentivised to collaborate, rather than compete, with each other. &ldquo This fosters a culture that competitors cannot easily poach or reproduce,&rdquo Ong adds, noting that the scalability of the model has been proven by how HRnetGroup was able to expand into new markets like Vietnam and Taiwan.
Unlike most recruitment agencies that focus only on professional recruitment or flexible staffing, HRnetGroup draws its earnings from both business areas.
Ong says this &ldquo dual-engine model&rdquo has allowed the company to remain profitable since 1993. The flexible staffing business provides a &ldquo predominantly recurring base of revenue and gross profit&rdquo and helps provide stability, he adds.
&ldquo While professional recruitment captures upside during periods of economic expansion, flexible staffing delivers steady volumes, consistent cash flow, and strong client retention,&rdquo Ong says.
Ong says HRnetGroup&rsquo s sizable cash pile of over $336 million is &ldquo more than just a defensive buffer&rdquo but also a &ldquo clear valuation disconnect.&rdquo In FY 2025, HRnetGroup held $262.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, $62.7 million in credit-linked notes and short-term Singapore Government Securities and gold ($10.7 million).
In addition, the cash pile gives HRnetGroup the ability to pursue any merger and acquisition opportunities that may arise down the line. &ldquo This balance sheet strength also provides flexibility to capture market share from weaker competitors during downturns,&rdquo Ong writes.
Although HRnetGroup has no directly listed comparables on the SGX, it&rsquo s net margin of roughly 8% to 11% puts it ahead of its peers such as Persol and Kelly. This is a reflection of the company&rsquo s &ldquo disciplined cost management and a strategic focus on professional recruitment over lower-margin temporary staffing,&rdquo Ong says.
Ong&rsquo s valuation is pegged to a forward PE multiple of 18 times on estimated FY2026 earnings. The stock continues to trade at an undemanding valuation of less than 9 times its forward PE based on estimated FY2026 earnings, excluding cash, he adds. &ldquo This presents a significant arbitrage opportunity compared to some Japanese and Chinese peers, which trade at multiples of over 20x.&rdquo
Shares of HRnetGroup are trading down by 0.66% at 75 cents as at 4.15 pm.
HRnet: Inflection looks near
HRnet' s revenue closely track Singapore&rsquo s job vacancy rate. Growth in job vacancy rate has bottomed out around Q2&rsquo 23 and has been on an upward trend ever since.
Growth in job vacancy rate has finally turned positive in Q3' 25. This means HRnet' s revenue and gross profit will likely continue growing YoY.
During the earnings call on 26 Feb 2026, management reported that they already have visibility of the pipeline for H1&rsquo 26. The pipeline quality has improved compared to last year.
For more details on why I became a shareholder, check out: [Thesis] HRnetGroup Limited (CHZ HRNET SP)
Not sure why so conservative at -0.5sd. Surely if one is being balanced between upside and downside one should assume 0sd?
Joelton ( Date: 18-Mar-2026 09:53) Posted:
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RHB' s Yeo keeps HRnetGroup at ' buy' with in-line FY2025, trims target price to 83 cents with larger share base
Alfie Yeo of RHB Bank Singapore has remained bullish on HRnetGroup following in-line FY2025 earnings, but has slightly trimmed his target price from 84 cents to 83 cents to take into account a slightly larger share base.
" We continue to like HRnetGroup for its decent growth outlook, strong cash generation ability, and attractive dividend yield. Our net profit estimates are unchanged, as FY2025 earnings were in line," says Yeo in his March 16 note.
He expects near-term growth for the company to be driven by more permanent and flexible staffing placements on firm GDP growth regionally.
Yeo is seeing more job placements supporting growth, especially from regional markets. Citing RHB' s economists, China, where HRnetGroup has extensive businesses, will firm economic growth for China of 4.5% this year. Elsewhere, Indonesia and Malaysia&rsquo s 2026 GDP growth rates are expected to be 4.7% and 5%.
Singapore, meanwhile, should see a " stable" job outlook. According to the government, overall unemployment rate remained stable at 2% for January, largely unchanged from Nov 2025&rsquo s numbers.
From Yeo' s perspective, Vietnam, which is targeting 10% GDP growth this year, is HRnetGroup' s key growth driver ahead.
As described by the analyst, the company is building its new complementary revenue stream via its human resources technology brand, Octomate, which will penetrate further with new and existing clients.
" We see Octomate adding to growth over the longer term, having announced the securing of two contracts with Outward Bound Singapore and Sentosa Development Corp," he adds.
For FY2025, the company reported earnings of $49 million, up 8% y-o-y, on the back of a 3% gain in revenue to $584 million.
While revenue from the flexible staffing segment was up 3% y-o-y to $524 million from Taiwan, Indonesia, and China, there was a dip in Singapore.
Permanent placement, another key segment, saw revenue up 2% y-o-y to $56 million with volume up 5% y-o-y to 4,766.
The company' s gross profit margin expanded by 0.9 percentage points to 21.9% from higher-margin senior executive search services in Taiwan, China, South Korea, Thailand, and Malaysia.
HRnetGroup has declared a final dividend of 2.2 cents per share, which will bring its total payout for FY2025 to 4.2 cents, which is equivalent to a payout ratio of 81%.
Yeo has kept his earnings projections for the current FY2026 and coming FY2027, but because of slightly bigger share base, trimmed his target price to 83 cents. Valuation is undemanding at -0.5 sd of its 13x mean forward P/E.
Good operating results.
They should not have so much cash and financial assets on their balance sheet though - they should just pay that back to shareholders. If not they potentially risk making poor decisions with it like buying the Staffline stake.
They should not have so much cash and financial assets on their balance sheet though - they should just pay that back to shareholders. If not they potentially risk making poor decisions with it like buying the Staffline stake.
HRnetGroup reports higher earnings of $52.9 mil for FY2025, up 14.3% y-o-y
HRnetGroup reported a 14.3% increase in earnings for FY2025, reaching $52.9 million. Revenue grew by 3% to $584 million, driven by increases in both flexible staffing and professional recruitment segments. The company plans to focus on senior executive search and expand its flexible staffing segment, while also cultivating recurring revenue streams.
This is an interesting growth stock with good dividend yield of over 5%, invest with additional positions since 4th Q 2025. The only negaitve is it is abit iliquid. Vested.
May go above $0.75 soon. However, this stock is also illiquid so will not add at current level.
HRnetGroup raises nearly $7m via placement of 9.78m treasury shares at 71.4 cents each
The placement came about through a reverse inquiry from a financial institution and thus will not be paying any fees or commission, says the recruitment firm on Oct 6.
The investors are not named for now.
HRnetGroup says it decided to go ahead with the placement so as to enhance trading liquidity and free float.
Big opportunity for them
HRnetGroup targets Vietnam&rsquo s booming tech sector with new subsidiary
It notes interest in hiring of IT engineers, data scientists and product teams by companies in finance and banking, media and platforms, healthcare and public sector
[SINGAPORE] Mainboard-listed HRnetGroup has expanded into Vietnam with the incorporation of a new wholly owned subsidiary.
The move to incorporate AllwaysFirst in Ho Chi Minh City marks the recruitment company&rsquo s 18th city of operation, it said in a bourse filing on Tuesday (Sep 9).
The expansion is a strategic entry into one of Asia&rsquo s fastest-growing economies, said HRnet. Vietnam&rsquo s gross domestic product grew by 7.1 per cent in 2024 to an estimated US$476.3 billion, and is forecast to expand 6.8 per cent in 2025.
AllwaysFirst will focus on professional recruitment in Vietnam&rsquo s growth sectors, particularly in IT and tech. The group noted the high demand for such talent in the country, which produces around 57,000 IT graduates annually.
There is &ldquo intense interest in the hiring of IT engineers, data scientists and product teams by companies in finance and banking, media and platforms, healthcare and the public sector&rdquo , said the group.
While HRnet said that any immediate contribution from the new subsidiary may not be material, it &ldquo takes a long-term view in cultivating depth and reach in new markets&rdquo .
2 rounds of dividends already for FY24 and 1H25 at $0.0213 and $0.02 respectively. Just want steady dividends for this position and calendar year 2025 dividend yield came in at about 6%, not bad.
HVRRVH ( Date: 12-Mar-2025 17:30) Posted:
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Initiated position at $0.69 a couple of days back and added today at $0.70. Good steady dividend, strong balance sheet with high net cash. Looking forward to add more when price trend down on overall market weakness.
HRnetGroup reports lower earnings of $44.5 mil for FY2024, down 30% y-o-y
Recruitment firm HRnetGroup reported earnings of $44.5 million for the FY2024 ended Dec 31, 2024, down 30% y-o-y. For 2HFY2024, the group saw a 35.3% y-o-y decrease in earnings to $22.8 million.
Earnings per share for FY2024 came in at 4.53 cents per share.
The group reported a lower revenue for FY2024 of $567 million, down 2% y-o-y. For the 2HFY2024, it saw a 0.9% y-o-y lower earnings of $281.1 million.
The group&rsquo s gross profit declined 12.1% y-o-y in FY2024 to $122.2 million, and net profit after tax for the period declined 29.9% y-o-y to $46.3 million.
Across the group&rsquo s two business segments, flexible staffing (FS) and professional recruitment (PR), FS revenue held steady while PR revenue declined 16.2% y-o-y.
Across the group&rsquo s 17 operating cities, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Taipei and Shanghai registered growth. Gross profit contracted most severely in Singapore and mainland China.
As Singapore is the largest revenue contributor at 66.3% to the group, weak economic growth impacted both FS and PR segments. Taipei, the group&rsquo s second largest contributor, held revenues and gross profit steady.
Mainland China&rsquo s economic uncertainties saw PR experiencing declines in revenue and profit.
Other income for the group dropped 45% y-o-y due to the increase in interest income by $1.1 million despite falling interest rates, net fair value loss on revaluation of equity instruments in the HR-related space, balance of trade-related accruals, and reduction of Singapore government grants and subsidies.
The group has proposed a final dividend of 2.13 cents per share. With the interim dividend of 1.87 cents, the group has a total dividend of 4 cents per share.
HRnetGroup H1 profit falls 22.8% to S$21.7 million in tough market conditions
The company says market conditions look set to get even tougher in Q3 and Q4 amid geopolitical tensions
FOR its first half ended Jun 30, HRnetGroup posted a 22.8 per cent drop in net profit to S$21.7 million, on a constant currency basis, from S$28.3 million in the previous corresponding period.
The recruitment company noted an &ldquo extremely tough market&rdquo in the period, it said in a regulatory filing on Monday (Aug 12).
Earnings per share stood at 2.21 Singapore cents for the half year, down from 2.86 cents the previous year.
Revenue for H1 fell 2.1 per cent on a constant currency basis to S$285.9 million, from S$294.8 million the year before.
An interim dividend of 1.87 Singapore cents per share was declared for the half year, unchanged from the year before. The dividend will be paid on Sep 11, after the books are closed on Sep 4.
Revenue in Hong Kong and Indonesia was offset by declines in the other seven geographies that the company operates in.
Overall gross profit in Taiwan was stable as growth in the flexible staffing segment was offset by a decline in professional recruitment.
Singapore and mainland China were the hardest hit, with both the professional recruitment and flexible staffing businesses affected.
The company&rsquo s business in mainland China was predominantly in professional recruitment, and the economy did not recover as expected, it said.
HRnetGroup said market conditions look set to get even tougher in Q3 and Q4 as geopolitical tensions continue to intensify, and the trade war deteriorates into a cold war.
&ldquo We will do what is within our control, including keeping a tight rein on costs, upskilling our consultants to fight even better in this market, and raising delivery standards to lock in trust and confidence in our client relationships,&rdquo it said.
AI makes all the hiring decisions. Hopefully it is fair.
From fishing net to Internet: HRnetGroup embraces tech to stay ahead
The company&rsquo s digital initiatives boost staff productivity and help with talent retention, says chief corporate officer Adeline Sim
OVER the years, the &ldquo net&rdquo in mainboard-listed HRnetGroup&rsquo s moniker has alluded to different things.
Previously, it meant casting a wider net to find suitable talent for the clients of the recruitment and staffing company.
Nowadays, it has more to do with the Internet: embracing digitalisation and marching ahead with a tech-enabled mindset, chief corporate officer Adeline Sim told The Business Times.
For instance, this has meant higher staff productivity through the use of generative artificial intelligence tools such as OpenAI&rsquo s ChatGPT.
ChatGPT has been &ldquo particularly useful&rdquo for overseas staff who are not as proficient in English, in areas such as crafting pitch decks or social media content generation, she said.
&ldquo It just helps you to be more efficient, and the first draft comes out a lot faster,&rdquo she added. The company&rsquo s software engineers also use ChatGPT to check code for errors.
Other digital initiatives were a harder sell. When the firm introduced a selfie-based clocking-in system for its contractors in 2018, there was &ldquo much resistance&rdquo from staff and clients.
&ldquo They thought it was much easier to stick with the (physical) punch-in, punch-out system,&rdquo Sim recalled. &ldquo But today, it&rsquo s almost an expectation to have such a system.&rdquo
Having jumped early on the mobile-first bandwagon meant subsequent digitalisation efforts could be more seamlessly integrated into existing platforms, she added. These included an instantaneous-payment platform, which has enabled monies to be transferred to workers immediately after a shift, or once claims are approved.
&ldquo For contractors, the technology became a retention tool &ndash they liked the fact that once they finished their work for the day, they could collect their money,&rdquo Sim said.
Launched last year after the firm&rsquo s acquisition of fintech startup Octomate, the instantaneous-payment platform is currently operational in Singapore. It will be rolled out to the 16 other cities in which the firm has a presence after internal tests have ended, she said.
New verticals
Beyond its use as a talent retention tool, the instantaneous-payment platform is also about sourcing for growth at a time when labour markets are flagging.
&ldquo Instant claims, for instance, technically have nothing to do with talent acquisition,&rdquo Sim noted. &ldquo But this is a differentiating factor &ndash we want to go beyond just talent acquisition and management.&rdquo
In essence, it means the firm has to figure out how it can be the partner with whom &ldquo you want to spend 80 cents out of every HR dollar&rdquo , she added.
Growing the pie further is especially crucial, as new slices of growth have become harder to come by.
HRnetGroup reported a 5.4 per cent dip in revenue to S$578.5 million for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2023, from S$611.8 million in the year-ago period.
Within Singapore, the firm&rsquo s largest market, revenue shrank to S$385.9 million, from S$396.9 million previously.
Sales in North Asia fell to S$166 million from S$186.1 million the year before. Markets represented in the segment include China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea.
&ldquo Nobody is hiring in a big way,&rdquo Sim said. &ldquo The demand is just not there.&rdquo
Yet, the group is regarded as a resilient counter in the highly competitive recruitment market. It had zero debt and positive cash flow, with S$271.6 million in cash and cash equivalents as at Dec 31, 2023.
The macroeconomic conditions in the markets the firm operates also point to it being time to &ldquo hunker down&rdquo and lay the groundwork for the longer-term &ndash something being debt-free helps with, Sim said.
&ldquo How do we prepare the ground so that once the market picks up, we&rsquo re right there? It&rsquo s by offering many verticals, a strong regional platform, (and) good quality of work,&rdquo she added.
Family business
Founded in 1992, HRnetGroup debuted on the Singapore Exchange in June 2017. It now comprises 15 brands, including Recruit Express and RecruitFirst, based on its FY2023 annual report.
Sim, a lawyer by training who used to specialise in dispute resolution and capital markets work, joined the company in 2009 as legal counsel. She is the daughter of the company&rsquo s 71-year-old founding chairman Peter Sim, who is still &ldquo very much involved&rdquo in the company.
The older Sim has lately tried to cut back to four-hour work days, but his daughter acknowledges that his presence &ldquo really makes a difference&rdquo .
&ldquo My father has always said he wants to work until he&rsquo s 100,&rdquo she said. &ldquo I&rsquo m like: &lsquo Please, go ahead &ndash it&rsquo d be impossible to hire someone like you who would want to!&rsquo &rdquo
Her own tenure in the company predates the day she officially began working there.
&ldquo When (my dad) first started the company, I was in primary school. He would just bring me to the office, and I would do the photocopying of the candidates&rsquo identity cards, and also the filing work,&rdquo Sim said.
&ldquo I more or less grew up here.&rdquo
HRnetGroup H2 profit rises 7.1% to S$35.3 million on strong profit marginMAINBOARD-LISTED posted a 7.1 per cent rise in net profit to S$35.3 million for the second half of 2023, from S$32.9 million in the previous corresponding period.This was mainly due to factors including a strong profit margin, partially offset by lower revenue, the recruitment and consulting company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday (Feb 22).Revenue for H2 2023 fell 4.7 per cent to S$283.7 million, from S$297.6 million a year earlier. This was due to tough economic conditions and sector-wide profit downgrades.Earnings per share stood at 3.58 Singapore cents for the half-year ended Dec 31, up from 3.3 Singapore cents the previous year.A final dividend of 2.13 Singapore cents per share was proposed for 2023, up from 1.87 Singapore cents the year before, subject to shareholders&rsquo approval at the group&rsquo s upcoming annual general meeting in April. The date payable will be announced later.For the full year ended December 2023, net profit was down 5.9 per cent to S$63.6 million, and revenue was down 5.4 per cent to S$578.5 million.HRnetGroup&rsquo s two key business segments are flexible staffing, in which it provides temporary manpower solutions to companies, and professional recruitment, in which it sources permanent staff for corporate clients.Revenue trends were patchy across the nine geographic regions in which the company operates, said HRnetGroup. Singapore, its largest market, contributed 66.7 per cent of its revenue in 2023, up from 64.9 per cent in 2022.On the other hand, the group&rsquo s professional recruitment business in mainland China &ldquo bore the brunt of the weak economic performance&rdquo , it said.
AllwaysHRnet and Octomate are interesting....hopefully to list on SSE someday