Staffing Company Adecco Q3 Profit Down 46 Pct

ZURICH (AP) — Swiss-based staffing company Adecco SA reported Thursday a 46 percent drop in third-quarter net profit, but said demand was slowly recovering from low levels.

The company made euro90 million ($133 million) in the July-September period, down from the euro168 million profit in the same quarter last year.

Analysts had forecast more modest results after the company reported a net loss of euro147 million in the second quarter.

"Market conditions have improved during the third quarter, especially in general staffing, and we have seen a gradual improvement of the revenue trend for the Adecco Group," said Chief Executive Patrick De Maeseneire.

Group revenues were down 27 percent to euro3.7 billion, while earnings per share fell to euro0.52 from euro0.96.

Revenue in France — its biggest market — fell 27 percent to euro1.3 billion. In the United States and Canada revenues decreased by 25 percent to euro525 million, while business in Germany dropped 39 percent to euro247 million.

De Maeseneire said Adecco is working to further reduce its costs and expects to book restructuring charges of about euro35 million in the final quarter of the year.

Chris Burger, an analysts at Helvea, praised Adecco's "impressive cost control management."

Any improvement in sales would quickly be translated into bigger profits for Adecco as the company is now "pretty lean," Burger said.

Adecco shares rose 2 percent to close at 49.48 Swiss francs ($48.62) on the Zurich exchange.