2010 was a year of recovery. We succeeded in making it through the crisis and in many respects it made our organisation become even stronger. We are already starting to reap the benefits of this. The bond between our employees is solid and from the moment signs of recovery became visible there has been a clear will throughout our organisation to advance and grow.
USG People is an organisation characterised by the high quality of its staff and candidates. Keeping people interested and committed while paying attention to human aspects makes USG People an attractive organisation. Our focus is on people, their growth and their personal development. We will continue to invest in this in the future because we believe that the right people end up making a difference. We believe in unique talent and unique organisations.
In the course of the year we witnessed positive trends across the board. Markets recovered along a classical pattern, in line with previous cycles. Initially recovery was mainly visible in the industrial and transport sectors, with the services sector following suit later. The industrial and transport sectors experienced a strong recovery, initially also boosted by the government. As is traditionally the case, recovery in the services sector was more gradual.
In the Netherlands recovery was phased, taking shape in a classic pattern. The Dutch staffing market largely consists of administrative employees who predominantly depend on jobs in the services sector. Government austerity measures were also a factor, resulting in lower public sector demand for external employees. The Dutch government is the largest employer of temporary staff in the services sector. The other branches in the services sector generally picked up more gradually throughout the course of the year. The industrial and transport sectors picked up sooner and the pace of recovery was quite rapid. The overall turning point in the Netherlands was in September when growth returned following a long period of contraction. In the final months of the yea, growth increased and revenue in the Netherlands was higher compared to 2009.
In the countries outside the Netherlands, where temporary staffing is more focused on the industrial sector, market recovery was exceptionally strong in 2010. In these countries we witnessed a rapid rise in demand early in the year. Growth in some countries even exceeded 50% in certain periods compared to 2009. It must be noted that while volumes had decreased significantly during the crisis, the exceptional pace of recovery has meant that we are now virtually back to pre-crisis levels in some countries.
In 2010 we further strengthened our financial position through an equity offering. In March seven million new shares were issued, boosting shareholders’ equity by an amount of € 85 million. This provides more financial scope and helps ensure our continuity, allowing us to once again set our sights on the growth and efficiency of our activities.
The international rollout of specialist brands including Unique and Secretary Plus is a good example of this. After taking a forced breather due to the crisis, we continued to internationalise our brands in 2010. Secretary Plus, for example, will be represented in virtually every country in which we operate in 2011.
In 2010 we harmonised our brand portfolio in a number of areas. The local Dutch brands Content and StarJob were successfully merged with Unique and Secretary Plus, two of the strongest international brands in USG People’s DNA. Another large-scale brand merger took place in Germany. All the local brands – many of which stemmed from recent acquisitions – were transformed and integrated into Unique and Technicum. These mergers meant a reduction in the overall number of brands by 14 local brands and helped to further increase the uniformity and coherence of the brand portfolio.
Within our organisation we are witnessing many initiatives in the field of innovation. We continued to innovate during the crisis and in some respects you could even say that the crisis acted as a catalyst for innovation. In our quest to be an industry leader with respect to change processes resulting from automation we actively encourage employee involvement. We also aim to take advantage of the opportunities we expect to see, particularly in the tight job markets in most European countries as a result of the massive retirement of baby boomers. Various initiatives of ours are aimed at using our diverse portfolio as efficiently as possible to deal with the job market potential so that we can continue to provide our clients with highly qualified employees.
Drastic changes are still expected to take place in the years to come, partly as a result of ongoing automation and globalisation. We will deal with these changes head-on to be able to benefit as much as possible from the many opportunities these new playing fields have to offer our organisation.
Change originates from new ideas which need to be supported and facilitated by appropriate leadership creating the framework for an innovative and forward-thinking organisation. The Executive Board which was appointed this year has already developed a number of initiatives on the subject. An active platform for innovation, a new way of looking at employment and new leadership were already introduced in the organisation in 2010. Further shaping these themes is high on the Executive Board’s agenda.
Our organisation is in full swing and we are moving forward with great confidence. It is mainly thanks to the efforts and flexibility of our employees in these past turbulent times that we have every confidence that we will also be successful together in the future. On behalf of the Executive Board I would therefore like to take this opportunity to thank all our employees once again for their contributions in 2010.
Rob Zandbergen, Chief Executive Officer
4 March 2011