Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITA) was 199 million euros ($236 million), beating estimates of 129 million euros according to a company-compiled poll.

The figure in the third quarter of 2019 was 236 million euros.

"Trading conditions gradually recovered during Q3 in most of our geographies and positive momentum continued in the first weeks of October," Chief Executive Officer Jacques van den Broek said.

He noted that of the 150,000 staffing placements lost at the height of lockdowns in April, 142,000 jobs had been recovered by the end of the quarter.

The company attributed the revenue recovery to improving revenue per working day of its placed staffers, but did not issue any specific earnings forecasts for the full year.

Third-quarter revenue fell 13% to 5.17 billion euros from the year-ago period.

Operating performance in Germany and France were among the worst hit by the COVID-19 crisis, with revenue down 21% and 16%, respectively. The North America region performed relatively better, with a 10% fall in revenue.

Shares closed at 46.62 euros on Tuesday, down 14% year to date.

($1 = 0.8444 euros)

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Jacqueline Wong, Aditya Soni)