World Careers Network

Pre-tax profits at graduate recruitment software business World Careers Network (WCN) were first class for the year to July, leaping from £144,000 to £344,000. Of this, £35,000 came from writing back a provision for share options that were not taken up, but core profits still reached £310,000. Chairman Ian Moore attributed some of the 'disproportionate' increase to careful management of costs, which are expected to rise this year on staff increases to handle more clients. WCN began as a graduate recruitment careers site but has evolved into a software play. Its applicant tracking software and online assessment account for more than 90% of revenue, which rose 11.6% last year to £1.9m. Design, project and response management account for the remainder. WCN recently launched version '7.0' of its software. Scaling back the company's French operations cut losses there from £90,000 to £2,700. Thanks to its excellent results and net cash of £1.5m, the company has proposed a maiden dividend of 1p a share. Moore states that there have been significant enquiries from existing and new clients in the current year, but it is too early to confirm whether they will be converted into firm orders. House broker Charles Stanley has yet to produce prospective figures for WCN, but the outlook seems good. Buy.

Sector: General Industrials

Companies: World Careers Network

Market cap: £5.2m

PE Forecast: n/a

Share price: 64p

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