Marlborough Recruitment is still in discussions with another company about a possible takeover, it said yesterday.

The quoted company reported a 63.4 per cent rise to €49 million in first-half fee income, but said the development of its website, FillTheJob.com, was delayed.

Profit before tax in the six months ended August 31st rose to €3.22 from €2.85 million in the comparable period last year, it said.

Of FillTheJob.com, it said: "We expect the offering to be on the market within a number of months."

No dividend will be paid, said the company's chairman Mr Niall Welch. In a statement he said the board wanted to retain earnings to fund its growth strategy.

Marlborough was seeking to acquire a "strongly managed, high quality" niche operator in its sector.

Last June the company abandoned a proposed takeover of a US Internet company, EPawn.com, after its chief executive, Mr Eli Liebowitz, was arrested in a major fraud investigation.

The proposed deal was brokered by a former Taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, but he was not a named party in the fraud action taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York.