topline grew 5% in Europe, 2% in North America and 11% in Rest of the world;
gross margin 19.8%; pricing climate stable; perm fees up 14% (Q1 2018: up 13%)
organic opex up 2% (Q1 2018: up 2%); L4Q ICR around 50%
leverage ratio of 1.3
June organic sales growth 5% against tough comps; volumes in early July indicate a continuation of the trend
'We delivered a strong operating performance in Q2,' says CEO Jacques van den Broek. 'Our organic sales growth came in at 5%, offsetting high comparable growth rates in Q2 2017. Our perm growth further accelerated to 14%. Randstad Sourceright and the Rest of the world region generated double-digit topline growth and significantly higher profitability. These businesses have further improved our global presence and resilience. All in all, we improved our margin conversion for the Group by maintaining the right balance between investing in growth and focus on profitability. Our digital strategy is making strong progress in laying digital foundations and scaling up best practices around the world. The global roll-out of digital initiatives such as workforce scheduling, data-driven sales and talent engagement is in full swing, with the first showing the most promising results. Wherever I travel and meet our people, I see a lot of excitement on our digital transformation and the positive effects it has on their jobs.'
Randstad Holding NV published this content on 24 July 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 24 July 2018 05:22:02 UTC
Randstad N.V. is the world's No. 1 of human resources services. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- generalist staff placement outside the classic sectors (45.4%): primarily administrative, light industry, logistics staff, etc.;
- generalist staff placement from onsite agencies (25.3%): primarily for clients in the consumer goods, automotive, life sciences and other industries;
- specialized staff placement (23.8%): primarily high-level and experienced professionals in the fields of IT, engineering, business, health, etc. In addition, the group offers services for the permanent staff of its clients (outplacement services, reintegration and salary management);
- other (5.5%).
At the end of 2023, the group had 2,761 branches worldwide.
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: the Netherlands (12.7%), the United States (18.8%), France (15.1%), Italy (8.5%), Germany (7.4%), Belgium (6%), Spain (5%), Australia (4.6%), the United Kingdom (4.3%), Japan (3.2%), Canada (2.3%), Switzerland (1.9%), India (1.5%), Portugal (1.3%), Poland (1.2%), Sweden (1.2%) and other (5%).
RANDSTAD N.V. 
