Nakama shares (LON:NAK) rallied on Tuesday morning after the company reported a profit in its latest half-year results.

The company, which specialises in recruitment, reported a net fee income of £2.7 million, the same figure posted back in 2017. Permanent placement revenue also remained flat at £1.7 million.

Meanwhile, contractor revenue dipped slightly to £6.3 million, compared to £6.5 million reported in 2017.

Nevertheless, margins were improved following a cut in headcount of 23% to 57.

Consequently, pre-tax profits came in at £186,000, an improvement from last year’s loss of £437,000.

Andrea Williams, CEO of Nakama Group, commented:

“As the first phase of our turnaround plan starts to bear fruit, we are very pleased with the results of the first half of this financial year. As we have committed to focusing our efforts on core markets, we have had to implement changes across most of our business units, early results are promising.”

“Whilst the NFI has not seen any significant changes from the same period last year we have created a more focused and lean operation and are pleased to show a return to profitability in H1 2018. Having posted a loss before tax of GBP437,000 in H1 2017, I am pleased with the improvement seen this year to date.”

“Overall headcount has decreased and whilst we expect this to reduce further in the short term, as we move into the next phases of our turn-around plan, we expect to see headcount increase as we progress through H2 and into the next financial year.”

“This is a positive start to our turn-around plan and I would like to thank all my colleagues for their hard work and commitment to the business. I would also like to thank our candidates and clients for their continued support across our key markets and to our supportive shareholders.”

Nakama is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The recruitment firm has offices both in London and Asia.

Shares in the company are currently trading +25.02% (1121GMT).