Annual Report 2019
Opportunities for Life.
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Total revenue
¥2,310.7bn
46%
International sales
54%
Japan sales
*as of March 31st 2019
Our Business Evolution
Since 1960, Recruit Group has been continuously evolving to offer an ever expanding range of communications solutions to meet changing market demands and provide life changing opportunities for wider stakeholders.
Business fields expansion
Recruit Group was founded in 1960 as a small advertising agency specializing in university newspapers. Two years later, we published our “Invitation to Companies”, a collection of job listings for university students, through which we established our business model referred to as the “Ribbon Model”. Since then, we have widened our range of HR business, while also expanding into the life events field, including education, housing, automobiles, bridal, and the lifestyle field including travel, dining, and beauty. Recently, we have introduced software as a service (SaaS) business tools to support operations within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), such as retailers and restaurants.
Digital transformation
Recruit Group began using computers at a time when their use was still limited, putting digitization into practice for increased efficiency. Following the introduction of a supercomputer in the 1980s, we transitioned from paper magazines to online media in the 1990s, and then to mobile platforms. Not only did this allow for faster and more convenient delivery of information, but it also transformed how individual users and enterprise clients interact, through the development of groundbreaking tools such as online reservation systems. Today we are accelerating our businesses utilizing digital solutions including SaaS.
Globalization
In the 2000s, Recruit Group entered the global market with a bridal business in China. Although this ended as a withdrawal, the failure helped us to shape our mergers and acquisitions (M&A) strategy, and we later succeeded in expanding in the US, Europe, Australia and beyond. The acquisitions of Indeed in 2012 and Glassdoor in 2018 have led to the successful establishment of our HR Technology business, spearheading the growth of the Group as a whole and bringing the number of countries we serve to over 60.
Performance Highlights
Read more (115KB)Global footprint:
Services provided over 60 countries
45,000+ employees
around the world.
Unique Visitors: 67 million
Unique Visitors: 250 million
AirREGI: Over 420,000 accounts
422,000 registered accounts for AirREGI, a cloud-based POS cash register linking with various SaaS applications to support SMEs. (As of June 30, 2019)
41.7% of managers globally are female
The Group continues to promote gender diversity in our managerial positions. (As of April, 2019)
Almost 42% CO2 reduction
Greatly exceeded our target of 25% reduction in CO2 emissions by FY2020 as set by our Japan-based businesses in FY2008. (As of March 31, 2019)
Almost 1,000 ideas submitted to Ring
Recruit Group's new business proposal system, and a symbol of a corporate culture that emphasizes the importance of innovation. (2019 submissions, as of June 30 2019)
Consolidated results for FY2018 EBITDA
293.2bn yen
YoY growth: +13.5%
Consolidated results:
Adjusted EPS 3 Year CAGR 15.5%
Greatly exceeded the FY2016-2018 target of "high single-digit growth" that we set in our mid-term strategy in May 2016.
19.3% ROE for FY 2018
Significantly exceeded our target of 15%.
HR Technology: 4x growth in revenue
US$2.94 billion in FY2018, compared to US$0.77 billion in FY2015.
Media & Solutions:
No.1 in revenue in almost all major businesses
Staffing: 5th largest in revenue globally
Our Staffing segment EBITDA margin increased through productivity improvements.
Our Leadership
Leadership team
CEO MESSAGE
Masumi Minegishi
Our Group performance is a result of continuous innovation in all three business segments, and our ongoing success in effectively connecting individuals with businesses. Together, we are building a brighter world where individuals can live life to the fullest.
CFO MESSAGE
Keiichi Sagawa
Our business growth is attributable to the effectiveness of our mid-term management policy, leading to an Adjusted EPS three-year CAGR of 15.5%. This was strongly supported by an increase in overseas sales, contributing 46% to the Group's ¥2,310.7bn Consolidated Revenue.
Closer look on value creation process -
Our model (207KB)How we support positive societal change -
SDGs DominoOur management framework -
Sustainability OrbitCorporate Values
CHRO ON CORPORATE VALUES
Shogo Ikeuchi
“To continue being the service provider of choice in a rapidly changing world, we rely on our strong values. They ensure we maintain high ethical standards and nurture talent while embracing speed and agility.”
Our Strategic Business Units
HR Technology
Innovations to simplify job searching and recruitment acitivites
The HR Technology Strategic Business Unit (SBU) comprises the operations of online job search engine Indeed, as well as the activities of Glassdoor, an online job and company information site.
This SBU focuses on improving the job search experience for job seekers while effectively supporting recruitment and hiring activities for employers. Using advanced technology and online platforms, this SBU effectively caters to large businesses and SMEs around the world.
HR Technology has maintained the highest growth of all the SBUs and in the three-year period from FY2015, sales on a US dollar basis increased nearly fourfold from $770 million to $2.94 billion. Revenue in turn increased 49.6% YoY.
Read more (836KB) Indeed CEO Message & Sustainability Glassdoor CEO Message & Sustainability
Client Success Stories
Financial Data for the past 3 years
Revenue
(In billion of yen)
EBITDA *1
(In billion of yen)
Media & Solutions
Enhancing individuals and businesses
This SBU comprises Marketing Solutions and HR Solutions. Marketing Solutions include activities and platforms linked to real estate, bridal, travel, dining and beauty matching services, while HR Solutions comprises recruiting operations in Japan as well as other HR development and placement services in Asia.
This people-centred SBU links individual users and enterprise clients, providing access to more choices, allowing users to make informed decisions that enhance their daily lives. Advertising services for enterprise clients help attract users and SMEs are supported with operational and management services through mechanisms such as Air Business Tools.
Media & Solutions EBITDA grew by 10.4% YoY to ¥172.4bn and revenue by 6.1% YoY to ¥721.4bn, primarily driven by an increase in the beauty sub-segment.
Read more (695KB) Media & Solution SBU's Sustainability
Client Success Stories:
Financial Data for the past 3 years
Revenue
(In billion of yen)
EBITDA*1
(In billion of yen)
*2 The sum of Marketing Solutions and HR Solutions does not correspond with segment revenue and EBITDA due to Eliminations and Adjustments, such as intra-group transactions.
Staffing
Tailored staffing expertise globally
This SBU offers temporary staffing and permanent placement services primarily in Japan, North America, Europe and Australia. Services are provided for a multitude of industries and a range of job types, such as clerical, industrial, medical and technical workers. This also includes highly specialized expertise, such as IT, engineering, finance and legal personnel.
This SBU is focusing on improving operational productivity, while responding appropriately to an uncertain future outlook in regions such as Europe, in order to increase overseas revenue in the future.
A contributing element to future success will be the Unit Management System employed by the Group. This style of management provides individual Group businesses with the flexibility to make decisions based on their deep knowledge of local customer needs and market situations.
Read more (764KB) Staffing SBU's Sustainability
Case Studies
Financial Data for the past 3 years
Revenue
(In billion of yen)
EBITDA*1
(In billion of yen)
Diversity and Inclusion
We believe in equality and fairness, which is why we are creating an environment in which people can excel as their unique selves at work.
Corporate Governance
Governance overview
Our Board of Directors are committed to providing corporate governance that helps the Group achieve stable long-term growth, while continually raising our corporate value and shareholder value.
Read moreBoard Director Interview
We believe that objective views and transparency strengthen our corporate governance structure. Which is why we have External Board Directors and External Audit and Supervisory Board members to support the Group's leaders.
Read moreRemuneration
Our remuneration principles and policies are designed to raise our corporate and shareholder value. To ensure transparency and fairness, Remuneration is determined by Remuneration and Evaluation Committees chaired by External Board Directors.
Read moreRisks and Opportunities
Interview with Chief Risk Officer, Hisayuki Idekoba
“In a rapidly changing industry, we believe it is important to take on serious challenges and find the opportunities inherent in various risks. This is especially true in the current age of stakeholder-centric business, sustainable value chains, machine learning and changes to labor markets worldwide.“
Read moreRisk Management Activities
To successfully grow on a global scale, a solid foundation of risk management and compliance is essential. Our entrenched compliance initiatives and a robust Code of Ethics support this.
Read moreRisk Factors
Learn about how we approach and mitigate risks to our ability to connect people with opportunities to life in our Risk and Opportunities overview.
Read moreDownloads
- 15.9MBAnnual Report 2019 (for viewing)
- 15.9MBAnnual Report 2019 (for printing)
- 1.5MBBusiness Evolution, Performance Highlights, SBU Summaries
- 467KBCEO Message
- 179KBCFO Message
- 207KBValue Creation Process
- 116KBCorporate Values
- 284KBCorporate Governance
- 75KBFinancial Results
- 113KBRemuneration
- 199KBRisk and Opportunities