As the world resumes its international border reopenings, global organisations have been quick to tap back into the overseas labour market which has contributed to recruitment tech company Xref (ASX: XF1) achieving $21 million in sales to set a new record. 

Sales have primarily been for its digital reference checking and verification services which automate a section of the recruitment process that had long been labour-intensive. 

The $21m achieved in sales, some of which will not be realised as revenue until purchased platform credits are utilised, represents a 25% increase on FY21 while revenue of $18.6m within the reporting period represents a 28% increase on the previous year. Most notably, the Company has maintained cash flow positivity with the 12 months to 30 June 2022 delivering $4.3m in positive operating cash flow. 

“As talent acquisition grows to become increasingly remote on a more permanent basis, automated reference surveys, identity verification and other pre-employment checks will continue to grow in demand,” said Xref  CEO and Founder, Lee-Martin Seymour. 

“The Group expects further growth in overseas regions will reduce the impact of seasonality. Xref expects it will be able to maintain its achievement of net profits after tax for FY2023 along with cash flow positivity. Xref will also continue to invest in growth through data-driven marketing with self-serve initiative continuing to bring inbound leads.” 

Over the June quarter, Xref continued to expand its portfolio of blue chip clients using the Xref platform for reference checks, adding Calvary Healthcare, Kimberley Clarke, Spriggy, Capitec, Coles, Ministry of the Environment – New Zealand, Mitre 10 and Seneca Family of Agencies as new customers. 

The platform is primarily data-driven where recruiters can input applicant contact information where candidates that progress are then asked to enter details of their references. Automation then fires off information requests where responses are compiled as reports for the recruiters, saving them the time of getting on the phone and making individual contact. 

Other human resource functions that have become increasingly popular include exit surveys and Xref’s recently launched Graduate Verification Service. 

Not limiting themselves to the traditional recruitment and HR market, Xref had also serviced the ‘anonymous’ market where credits could be purchased with cryptocurrency. Sales in this market have declined alongside the wider decline of crypto over the past six months but Xref expects that its Trust Marketplace will recoup some of these sales when launched in September 2022. 

“Talent remains on the move and employers are facing an extremely competitive market. Employees, many of whom may have stayed in ‘safe’ roles are now buoyed with confidence to make a transition to something new,” said Seymour. 

“Employers will face a need to move quickly to hire the best talent so having the right processes in place to make confident hiring decisions quickly has never been more important.” 

In FY21, Xref reported a net loss after tax of just $0.02m which was a huge improvement on the $10m net loss in FY20. The Company will release its full FY22 financials around the end of August 2022.