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To
our shareholders:
“
I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand;
that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man
an opportunity to make a living.”
— John D. Rockefeller
We continued to focus on two major priorities in 2007: providing
value to you, our shareholders, and in supplying the quality employees
needed by our clients to power their business. Since our path
to profitability is people driven, we are continually aware of
our obligation to their development as a vital part of fulfilling
our goals.
At COMFORCE the emphasis on the dignity of work, regardless of
skill level, permeates our culture. Our commitment to our employees
reflects itself in the quality of our workforce and the noteworthy
retention rate of high performers, both temporary and full time.
With gratitude to all we are once again proud to report a very
productive year in terms of advancing our niche service lines
and improving our balance sheet. Some of the highlights of 2007
were:
-
Record revenues of $586.7 million
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Interest expense reduction of approximately $1.7 million
over the year 2006
-
An 11.4% increase in net income from continuing operations
before income taxes over the year 2006
Our financial stability has steadily improved through the continuing
reduction of long-term public debt which has decreased from $138.8
million in June 2000 to $11.7 million dollars in ’07. During
2007, we redeemed and repurchased $11.2 million principal amount
of our 12% Senior Notes, thereby, further reducing our annualized
interest expense.
While our gross margin has improved slightly, it has been offset
by increased operating expenses, primarily a result of our overseas
expansion. Accelerated business growth has necessitated the upgrade
and enhancement of the proprietary software, “WAND”.
WAND makes possible the customized service strategy of our profit
leading subsidiary, PrO Unlimited. To maintain a leadership position
in this valuable niche, which we feel represents the future of
the staffing industry, we feel it is an investment which will
help insure our future. Leading change has always been our hallmark.
Visualizing market trends and business challenges has required
foresight, investment and patience. However, it has paid off particularly
with PrO Unlimited. Responding to the 1099 independent contractor
challenge in 1991 we pioneered a systematic identification and
compliance business process to respond to the challenges of the
use of contractors. Since then legislation and marketplace demand
has broadened PrO’s scope of services to include: vendor
neutral staffing supplier management, worker classification identification
and professional payrolling services. Client recognition for market
leadership in this space is well established and PrO continues
to grow nationally and internationally. PrO’s sales climbed
7.7% in ‘07 to $363.7 million.
Our expanding global footprint manifests itself in our government
services division which now successfully places people to work
in foreign countries. We now have multimillion dollar contracts
in place to provide services abroad for the Center for Disease
Control and other government agencies. In 2007 we were also named
as a preferred vendor for the Departments of Defense and Energy
making the growth potential for this division excellent.
The expanded and growing usage of contingent staff by large companies
has dramatically changed the demand for the skills and services
provided by staffing vendors. Our industry has grown to $190 billion
dollars and most client companies are compelled to utilize multiple
staffing vendors to meet their needs. The time consuming and complex
activities involved in order flow, fulfillment, billing and reporting
has put vendor management services (VMS), in the forefront of
changes.
Nowhere is VMS more critical than in the vital area of health
care where speed of delivery is mandatory. In response to this
industries dilemma, COMFORCE has created RightSourcing®, a
vendor management service customized for the healthcare industry
and hospitals in particular. We consider this division to be a
“mini” PrO Unlimited and for the number of years which
it has been in existence, it is ahead of PrO at the same stage
of development.
The future as always is fraught with uncertainty; however, we
feel that our broad based service offerings and business diversity
will provide some economic downturn insurance. Providing staffing
to a broad array of industries and skill areas such as information
technology, engineering, technical, a full range of health care
support, professional accounting and administrative office skills
help counter the downturn equation. Adding to our growth strategy
has been the addition of a permanent placement division in each
COMFORCE office. Here again, this high gross margin activity was
recognized as a result of client demand.
People drive our profits, people power our clients and they continue
to be our most valuable asset. As a provider of services, our
inventory leaves each night and comes in each morning. We want
to thank our shareholders, clients, vendors and employees for
their contributions and support for our success. You can be assured
that the COMFORCE management team will do its part for matters
within our control to seek to support your company’s future
growth and profitability.
Yours truly,

John Fanning
Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer |
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