financial highlights:
[march 29, 2024, hong kong] manpowergroup greater china limited (“manpower greater china limited” or the “company”, and its subsidiaries, the “group”, stock code: 2180.hk) is pleased to announce the audited consolidated results for the year ended 31 december 2023 (the “reporting period”). in 2023, the group continued to deliver solid growth across all regions in greater china. during the reporting period, the group recorded total revenue of rmb 5303.6 million, representing a year-on-year increase of approximately 15.6%. revenue generated from flexible staffing, the group’s largest business segment, grew by approximately 17.9% on a year over year basis to rmb 5122.8 million, of which the flexible staffing revenue from mainland china once again delivered strong growth of 25.2% on a year over year basis. during the reporting period, net profit attributable to owners of the company increased to 126.5 million, representing a growth of approximately 6.6% year over year. adjusted net profit attributable to owners of the company, after adjusting stock option and other one-off expenses, increased by approximately 2.5% to rmb 135.1 million on a year over year basis.
during the past three years, the management team had led the group navigating a series of challenges including the covid pandemic, downward pressure on macroeconomy, and weaker-than-expected demand recovery. with uncertainties of the macroeconomy and an increasingly competitive market, the group continues to deliver impressive performance: the revenue of 2023 more than doubling that of 2020, an over 30% compound average growth rate of mainland flexible staffing revenue, and positive revenue growth in mainland, hong kong and taiwan each year.
solid flexible staffing growth in mainland china with expanded service offerings
2023 was a year with challenging economic conditions and elevated geopolitical tensions around the world. moreover, demand recovery after the epidemic is weaker than expected. despite macroeconomic uncertainty, the group continued to expand its service offerings in mainland china, particularly in the flexible staffing business. in addition to growing its existing accounts, the group actively expanded into the state-owned-enterprise (soe) sector and financial services sector to increase its market share in mainland china. in the meantime, the group been building up its it outsourcing (ito) business segment to further widen business offerings and provide comprehensive services in a fast-growing industry.
during the period, the group continued to optimize its operational structure in mainland china and accelerated expansion into eastern and western china, such as chengdu and hangzhou, and bolstered its strong market position in tier-one cities such as shanghai, beijing, and guangzhou. the total number of associates placed during the period increased by 10% from approximately 49,200 as of 31 december 2022 to approximately 54,000 by end of 2023, among which the total number of associates placed in mainland china grew rapidly by approximately 25.4%. with strong growth potential of the human resources industry, the group is confident about maintaining its leading market position.
proactive cost management measures and internal technological upgrade to enhance operational efficiency
by implementing active cost management measures and optimizing operational efficiency, the group achieved 24.4% growth of average revenue generated per employee on a year over year basis during the period. in addition, thanks to the group’s strong risk control capability, turnover days of trade receivables remained stable at 52 days for the period compared with 51.9 days of last year.
during the reporting period, in view of the industry trend of digitalisation, the group continued to upgrade its internal technological platforms and it infrastructure. through the optimization of its client relationship management system and the upgrade of recruiting systems, the group has further integrated its working process from contract-signing to order execution and other value-adding services and achieved higher operational efficiency.
leading hr service provider in the greater china region with wide recognition
having been deeply rooted in the greater china region for more than 20 years, the group is committed to providing customized and professional services to its clients, and is widely recognized by the industry with a number of awards, including “2023 top 100 human resource service providers” ( “2023人力资源服务机构100强”) award by tophr , “2023 flexible staffing hr agency - white-collar positions” (“灵活用工hr臻选服务机构-白领岗位”) by hrec, and “2023 asia-pacific human resource service award - innovation and development award” (“亚太人力资源服务奖-创新发展奖”) by asia-pacific human resources development and service expo.
looking ahead into 2024, global economy still faces challenges and uncertainties including escalated geopolitical tensions, continuous high interest rate, etc. in the meantime, china’s domestic demand and growth momentum remains relatively weak. the group is cautious about its growth in 2024 but is optimistic about the business outlook in the medium term on the back of a fast-growing flexible staffing industry, diversification of the portfolio of services, and robustness of its business model.
mr. cui zhihui, executive director and chief executive officer of the group, said, “we are currently at a critical phase of china’s industrial transformation. in 2024, we will continue to be committed to providing professional human resources services to our clients to help them reduce the cost of human resources on one hand, and on the other hand help unleash the potential of our talents and candidates. we believe that the group’s leading position in the human resources industry in the greater china region, together with its strong global brand and diversified business lines, excellent customer development capabilities and superior cash flow management, will further enable it to fully capture the growth potential of the human resources market.”