Maharah says average labor force declines by 10% in 2020, mulls employment platform

Logo of Maharah Human Resources Co.

Maharah Human Resources Co.'s average labor force fell by 10% in 2020 compared to 2019, the company told Argaam during an investors call.

Although some sectors were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the company managed to effectively rotate workers internally and adopt several initiatives in the corporate and individual divisions to mitigate the financial impact on results.

Maharah’s market share of labor force in the corporate and individual sectors remained strong despite the impact of COVID-19; however, it developed initiatives and strategies to alleviate the epidemic effects.

In addition, the company raised the rates of renewing labor contracts to 65% in 2020.

The Tadawul-listed recruitment firm attributed the lower Q4 2020 earnings to the decline in manpower, which impacted revenue and profit margins, in addition to the exit of some workers and settlement of their receivables.

Commenting on the initiative of contractual relation improvement, Maharah said it benefited from the decision to open up internal recruitment, especially amid the current challenges of attracting the necessary labor force.

The move is important to boost laws needed by the labor market, it further noted.

On the other hand, Maharah unveiled a plan to launch a platform for the recruitment of citizens and expatriates.

CEO Abdulkarim Al-Najidi said 2020 was an exceptional year for the global economy in general and the company, in particular, since it is significantly linked with the travel sector which hires expats, both skilled and non-skilled.

Despite the challenges faced by the company, its performance is still good, the CEO said, adding that revenue was not remarkably affected by COVID-19 but the costs increased due to the preventive measures.

Maharah's financial position in 2020 was good, which will help it to overcome the current challenges, return to the same profitability levels, expand business, and implement future plans, Al-Najidi concluded.