Emerald has come a long way since we began trading in May 2000 and as we ‘come of age’, it seems apt to reflect on what we’ve achieved.
We now have a full end-to-end services suite in place to address all challenges our customers face when they look to expand their teams globally. I feel that we are really starting to grow up as a business, with a clear five-year plan in place to continue our development.
Last year was incredibly tough for everyone, both personally and professionally. It would be remiss of me not to put on record my immense gratitude for the care staff and front-line workers who continue to support everyone through the pandemic, demonstrating inspirational bravery and resilience. However, I am also very proud of our incredible employees, who took the everyday challenges posed by COVID-19 in their stride and have emerged stronger than ever. Though we had to make some tough decisions to manage costs at the height of the pandemic, we also clarified our strategy and are bouncing back as a leaner, more focused unit.
We have had an incredible start to 2021 and our Q1 results far exceeded the same (pre-COVID) trading period last year, with 140% revenue growth and a 291% increase in profits. All of our offices have grown in both revenue and profit since the same trading period last year, with 209% growth in Europe & the Americas, 128% in the Middle East & Africa, and 48% in Asia Pacific.
The most pleasing part of this growth is how sustainable it is moving forward, with MRR and ARR driven by a 140% increase in individuals located on customer site from our Employer of Record & Contract Recruitment Solutions. During 2020, we saw 219% revenue growth from these services, and compared to Q1 last year, we’ve seen a 207% increase in revenue and 165% increase in gross profit. These new additions to our service offering enabled us to increase our total year-on-year revenues by over 20% in 2020, despite COVID-related difficulties.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank our valued Candidates, Customers and Partners who have contributed to making this happen and, most importantly, our amazing Employees worldwide, with whom I look forward to celebrating our successes very soon.
We are now hiring across all sectors of our business, including Permanent Talent Acquisition, Employer of Record Services, Contract Recruitment, Customer Success, and Finance & Operations. If you are interested in joining an organisation that is growing rapidly and solving customer challenges with a full suite of services, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Happy 21st birthday, Emerald – onwards and upwards!