TrueBlue Inc. (NYSE: TBI), a provider of industrial staffing and RPO, reported first-quarter revenue rose 20.2% year over year while gross margin improved. CEO Patrick Beharelle said revenue rose across all the Tacoma, Washington-based company’s segments during the quarter.
| (US$ thousands) | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | % change |
| Revenue | $551,515 | $458,706 | 20.2% |
| Gross profit | $139,845 | $110,574 | 26.5% |
| Gross margin percentage | 25.4% | 24.1% | |
| Net income | $10,519 | $6,898 | 52.5% |
“PeopleReady revenue growth benefited from bill rate increases and worker supply improvement, while PeopleScout delivered a fourth consecutive quarter of growth driven by new and existing client demand,” Beharelle said. “We are also pleased with the revenue growth in our PeopleManagement business despite global supply chain challenges.”
The company’s PeopleScout division provides RPO while the other divisions focus on industrial staffing. PeopleManagement also includes driver staffing.
Revenue by segment
| (US$ thousands) | Q1 2022 | Q1 2021 | % change |
| PeopleReady | $305,690 | $260,392 | 17.4% |
| PeopleManagement | $163,819 | $151,754 | 8.0% |
| PeopleScout | $82,006 | $46,560 | 76.1% |
The company noted its JobStack app, included in the PeopleReady segment, saw client users grow by 13% year over year in the quarter to 29,000. The number of shifts filled on the JobStack platform rose by 11% year over year to 792,000.
Guidance
TrueBlue is not providing customary revenue guidance. Still, the company noted its historical average for sequential revenue growth between the first quarter and second quarter, excluding 2020, was roughly 8%. And it noted revenue trends over the last four weeks imply sequential growth of 3% to 5%.
Share price and market cap
Shares in TrueBlue were down 6.39% to $27.09 as of 11:48 a.m. Eastern time; they were 19.08% above their 52-week low, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of $1.01 billion.