Companies: CPS   

In its first year as a quoted company, CPL managed to raise profits through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. The specialist recruitment services company lifted turnover by 25% to Û26m and profits before tax by 45% to Û4.5m. CPL expanded its teams in telecoms, network services and e-commerce and boosted its net fee income by 73% in all of these divisions. The company also unveiled two new offices in Cork and Belfast. It managed to grow the contract company CPL Solutions, despite the temporary slowdown in the market caused by the Y2K issue. Acquisitive growth was achieved through the purchase of the recruitment firm Careers Register, which specialises in financial sector and accountancy appointments. Chief executive Anne Heraty descibed this market as one of 'strong growth with relatively higer margins'. The IT infrastructure of the company also produced operational efficiencies and a new website is due to be launched in October. Earnings per share was 9.3 cents (6.3 cents).