Fast-growing specialist staffing outfit Empresaria Group plc (LON:EMR) is set for another record year of adjusted profits, albeit below current market expectations.
The group said adjusted profit before tax for the second half of 2017 will be ahead of the first half and the corresponding period of last year.
READ: Multi-brand, global strategy helping drive record growth for staffing firm Empresaria
The company has previously flagged that margins in Germany would contract following changes in legislation, but the anticipated effect has kicked in earlier than expected, hitting the bottom line.
Empresaria said it expects the impacted on adjusted profit before tax will continue through 2018 but added it is confident the changes will prove beneficial to the German business over the medium term.
Meanwhile, the weak market in the Middle East has continued, resulting in additional costs as management adjusts the size of the business.
READ: Recent acquisitions help Empresaria to record first half
Empresaria has taken corrective action in those parts of the business that are currently not coming up to snuff, and remains confident that its strategy of being diversified both geographically and sectorally will help mitigate the effects of isolated market fluctuations and external factors.
The group also revealed it had recently concluded the sale of a non-core training business; this resulted in a non-cash one-off accounting loss of around £1mln, and while this will affect reported profit before tax it will not affect adjusted profit before tax.