Annual report 2020

Interim Search AB provides managers and qualified specialists on fixed-term contracts. The business was started in 2012 and has since developed into one of Sweden's most established players in Interim Management. In accordance with the company's strategy, the assignments that Interim Search AB has been hired for in 2020 have consisted of appointing temporary managers and qualified specialists. The clients have consisted of private actors of varying sizes and activities as well as public organizations. The company has its head office in Stockholm and appoints interim consultants all over the country. During the 2020 financial year, Interim Search was awarded its fourth Gazelle Prize by Dagens Industri and received Veckans Affärer's Super Company award for the third year in a row.

Significant events during the financial year

In 2020, the Board of Directors decided to create a group structure to create a more efficient organization and enable continued growth. The shares in Interim Search AB have thus been transferred to the owner company Grabon Holding AB. The Gothenburg business will in the future operate under a separate subsidiary of Interim Search AB started in the latter part of 2020, under the company name Interim Search SV AB. Furthermore, the business area &Company, which offers self-employment and consulting administration services, has been placed in an independent limited company owned by the holding company, Andcompany Sweden AB. Even after these organizational changes, the founders of Interim Search AB are the owners of all shares in the group.

Interim Search continued to expand during the year, recruiting four new employees, including three senior recruitment consultants, without any layoffs or other staff reductions. In the latter part of the year, the business opened its third local office (Gävle). The company's turnover in the first and second quarters remained at the same levels as in the 2019 financial year (SEK 41 million in Q1 and SEK 39 million in Q2), before slowing down in the third quarter (SEK 33 million in 2019, SEK 26 million in 2020). This was due to a hesitant market as a consequence of the pandemic, before increasing significantly in the last quarter of the year (SEK 33 million in 2019, SEK 35 million in 2020). Total turnover for the year thus fell by only 4 %.

The quarterly comparison of new contracts signed kept the same, but even more positive, trend. The first quarter kept the same level of total contribution margin as last year (SEK 7.7 million), the second quarter an increase of 37 % from SEK 5 million (2019) to SEK 8.2 million (2020). The third quarter a decrease from 5.9 MSEK (2019) to 4.2 MSEK (2020) to then recover in the last quarter of the year from 7.9 MSEK (2019) to 10.6 MSEK (2020). The total value of new contracts signed thus amounted to SEK 30.6 million, representing an increase from the previous year of +15 %.

Andcompany Sweden AB

During the financial year, the &Company business area was spun off into a separate limited company called Andcompany Sweden AB. Sales fell in the first quarter from SEK 2.6 million (2019) to SEK 1.5 million (2020) and from SEK 5.5 million (2019) to SEK 2.8 million (2020) in the second quarter. In the latter part of the year, the business has seen a recovery and returned to the previous year's quarterly turnover (quarter three 2.3 MSEK and quarter four 2.1 MSEK). Total turnover decreased from 12.4 MSEK (2019) to 8.8 MSEK (2020). Towards the end of the year, we saw a sharp increase in demand and &Company set a record in the number of contracted self-employed people using the service.

The decrease in turnover in &Company is largely a consequence of the business being gradually transferred to a separate limited company (Org.nr: 559221-2566) with a turnover of SEK 6.5 million. Overall, &Company thus increases its turnover to SEK 15.3 million (2020). The combined turnover of Interim Search and &Company consequently decreased from SEK 159 million (2019) to SEK 156 million (2020).

Marketing & Sales

The marketing department received an increased budget during the year, which strengthened the company's brand and presence in a variety of channels. Exposure in social media has been further strengthened, largely thanks to quality content and further increased frequency. During the financial year, the company has been very active in acquiring new customers and deepening relationships with existing ones. As a consequence, the company's aggregated network of existing and prospective customers has doubled during the financial year, which is one of the main reasons for the very strong recovery in the latter part of the year in terms of new contracts signed.

Efficiency gains

The interaction between the administration/research and the front office organization has been further developed through clearer collaboration between individuals and regular meetings to ensure quality and synergies in the delivery processes.

COVID-19

The 2020 financial year has been affected by the pandemic, both in terms of risk management and internal communication, marketing and sales activities, work management and the general business climate. The company has adapted by holding largely digital meetings and developing a corona policy to ensure the safety of employees, candidates and clients. Interim Search has been actively preparing for crisis management for several years, which has put us in a good position to handle this crisis without significant and/or long-term negative consequences.

Sustainability

After the 2019 financial year, we produced our first sustainability report based on those of the UN's 17 global goals that we find make the biggest difference to us, work that continued continuously during the year and is reported in a separate sustainability report. This is available on the company's website (www.interimsearch.com). Some of the aspects we are actively working on are greener travel, social sustainability, gender equality, peaceful and inclusive societies, combating the climate crisis and supporting the aid organization Hand in Hand Sweden.

Final comment

The company's organization and working methods, brand and position as the Swedish market's largest player in interim management and business model have proven their viability and stability during the 2020 financial year. This, combined with a strong positive trend in the last quarter of the financial year and a further strengthened organization, indicates continued strong progress next year.