Indeed Ireland reports sharp increase in revenues and employees

Site used by 200m a month has ploughed income into hiring staff at local operations

Indeed: The online recruiter recently completed its move to new offices on St Stephen’s Green

Online recruiter Indeed channelled more than €200 million in revenue through its Irish-based business last year.

Newly filed accounts for Indeed Ireland Operations Ltd show income surged 48 per cent or more than €67 million to €208 million.

The company, which employs more than 700 people in Ireland and is on track to increase this to 1,000 by next year, ploughed much of those revenues back into the business as it continued on its hiring spree.

The move meant losses for the group climbed to €80.1 million from a restated €68 million due to increased expenses linked to expansion costs.

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Accounts for the subsidiary, which encompasses all the group’s activities outside North America and Asia Pacific, show the company closed the year with a deficiency of assets of €171.7 million.

Operating losses were up 17 per cent last year to €79.4 million from €67.5 million but were down as a proportion of revenue to 38 per cent from 48 per cent in 2015.

“The main driver of this loss and negative net asset position is the significant spend on advertising and marketing which Indeed Ireland has committed to since 2013 as it expands its international operations,” company directors said in a note accompanying the accounts.

Indeed, which opened its first office in Ireland in March 2012, has grown at a rapid rate locally with headcount rising by nearly 90 per cent last year alone.

Administrative expenses grew last year to €275.6 million from €198.2 million as the company took on more staff and completed its move to new premises next to the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green.

Staff-related costs, including wages and salaries, rose to €36.5 million from €21.9 million while operating leases expenses climbed to €3.13 million from €736,705.

Jumped considerably

The number of employees working for Indeed stood at 417 at the end of last year, up from 218 in 2015. Staff numbers have jumped considerably again over the last 10 months and now stand at about 750 people.

More than 200 million people use Indeed each month to search for jobs, post CVs, and research potential employers.

The company was co-founded by Paul Forster and Rony Kahan in 2004 and now has sites in over 60 countries and 28 languages. Its dedicated Irish site has 1.2 million unique visitors each month in Ireland as of September 2017.

Indeed is ranked at the number one recruitment site in 12 countries according to ComScore. These include the US, the UK, Japan, Canada, France and South Africa.

Figures published on Wednesday for the company’s ultimate parent, Tokyo-headquartered Recruit Holdings, show Indeed’s revenues rose 75 per cent in the second quarter to 52.7 billion Japanese yen.

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor

Charlie Taylor is a former Irish Times business journalist