Recruiter Cpl sees profits jump 63% in 2022

The recruiter saw a ‘significant post Covid-19 bounce in business’ last year

Directors said that given Cpl’s scale in the Irish market, if the recruiter is to grow “substantially” in the next five years, growth must come from international expansion. Photograph: Alan Betson
Directors said that given Cpl’s scale in the Irish market, if the recruiter is to grow “substantially” in the next five years, growth must come from international expansion. Photograph: Alan Betson

Cpl Resources saw profits jump by 63 per cent in 2022, to €26 million, as the recruiter benefited from a “significant post Covid-19 bounce in business”.

Founded by Longford native Anne Heraty in 1989, Cpl was taken over by Japanese group Outsourcing at the beginning of 2021, as part of an almost €318 million cash deal.

Accounts filed by Outsourcing Talent Ireland Limited, the holding company for Cpl’s group of 48 subsidiaries, show a “strong performance” by Cpl in the year to 31 December 2022.

Dublin-headquartered Cpl provides specialist recruitment, managed services, outsourcing and strategic talent advisory services. It employs more than 13,000 people across 46 offices worldwide, many of whom are contractors working day-to-day at other companies.

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The recruiter reported a profit before tax of €26 million in 2022, a 63 per cent increase on the €16 million of the previous reporting period from when Outsourcing Talent Ireland was incorporated on August 31st 2020 to December 31st 2021.

Cpl reported revenue of €719 million in 2022, up from €663 in the 2020/21 reporting period. There was no dividend paid out to shareholders in either the 2022, or 2020/21 period.

In a report accompanying the latest accounts, directors said they were satisfied with the “strong performance” of the Cpl group, noting a “significant post-Covid-19 bounce in business in 2022 which wound down towards the end of the year”.

Directors said that Cpl’s acquisition of German IT contracting company Neusta in July of 2022 “also provided additional growth”, giving Cpl a presence and opportunity for future expansion in the DACH region of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

Between July 29th 2022 and December 31st 2022, Neusta contributed revenue of €24.4 million and profit before tax of €1.2 million to Cpl group’s overall results.

Directors said that given Cpl’s scale in the Irish market, if the recruiter is to grow “substantially” in the next five years, growth must come from international expansion.

Citing international growth in the USA and Australia and expansion within Europe as part of Cpl’s midterm strategy, directors said that the Irish-founded recruiting company has a “rich, geographically untapped client portfolio” and is “highly cash generative, enabling its ability to acquire”.

Ellen O'Regan

Ellen O’Regan

Ellen O’Regan is a former Irish Times journalist.