Barrett Business Services reports Q1 revenue up 12.8%, momentum carries over from end of 2021

May 05, 2022

Barrett Business Services Inc. (NASDAQ: BBSI) revenue rose 12.8% year over year in the first quarter.

“The momentum experienced at the end of 2021 accelerated in the first quarter of 2022 with strong results in all areas of the business,” President and CEO Gary Kramer said.

(US$thousands)	Q1 2022	Q1 2021	%change
PEO service fee revenue	$217,433	$193,819	12.2%
Staffing services revenue	$28,942	$24,626	17.5%
Total revenue	$246,375	$218,445	12.8%
Large margin	$40,353	$30,865	30.7%
Gross margin percentage	16.4%	14.1%	–
Net income/loss	$288	($4,554)	NM

Gross billings at the Vancouver, Washington-based PEO and staffing provider were up 16.0% to $1.71 billion. Gross billings are a non-GAAP measure that includes total billings to PEO clients; the company otherwise reports PEO revenue net of direct payroll costs.

The average number of PEO worksite employees was up 9.3% year over year in the first quarter to 116,197. Net client additions and net client hiring drove the increase.

Kramer noted the company had positive net income in a first quarter for the first time in 10 years.

guidance

Barrett increased its outlook for full-year 2022 to growth in gross billings of between 10% to 12%. The company had previously forecast growth of 7% to 9%.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Barrett were up 2.74% to $76.96 as of 12:26 pm Eastern time; they were 11.36% below their 52-week high, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of $547.9 million.