Zhaopin eyeing more acquisitions to expand recruitment reach

Zhaopin Ltd, China's biggest job recruitment site, is looking to further consolidate its presence in the sector with more mergers and acquisitions, a top official said.

The New York-listed company, however, did not disclose any details on its planned acquisitions or the time-frame for the deals.

"We are in talks with several companies about the acquisitions and it is not opportune to disclose any further information. Investments and acquisitions are something that we will pay close attention to in the next few years," said Guo Sheng, the chief executive of Zhaopin Ltd.

As one of China's largest job listing websites, Zhaopin Ltd aims to connect users with relevant job opportunities through their career life cycle. The company has divided its products to cater to mainly three kinds of jobseekers: college graduates, white-collar workers and high-end senior executives.

Amid new challenges and opportunities that are coming about despite the difficult employment situation, the company will revamp its career platform to deliver more value-added services to job seekers and employees.

It has already launched several derivative products such as an online loan services for college graduates. It has also introduced an evaluation test to assess personalities and advantages, factors which help jobseekers find the right jobs.

"When people search for jobs or consider job changes, they often find that they lack the requisite skills. Our website aims to provide an accurate assessment of the candidate's advantages and shortcomings, and provide the necessary professional training for enhancement of skills," Guo said.

Meanwhile, the company has witnessed strong growth in operations. It posted total revenue of 1.29 billion yuan ($201.8 million) for this year, up 19.5 percent from a year ago. During the same period, its net income jumped 35.3 percent to 252.6 million yuan.

Besides, the recruitment portal filled 25.6 million positions this year, a 41.5 percent growth over last year. At the same time, it served 315,358 unique employees during the fourth quarter, an increase of 29 percent year-on-year.

"Zhaopin is China's leading career platform based on the number of job seekers and unique customers. We have over 100 million registered users. A key driver of Zhaopin's growth has been our ability to expand our customer penetration, particularly among China's small and medium-sized companies," Guo said.

According to its earnings report, Zhaopin Ltd has been posting double-digit growth rates consecutively since it went public on the New York Stock Exchange in June 2014. The company plans to create the full ecosystem for talent recruitment and expand into other career-related services.

Guo Jianmin, the chief financial officer of Zhaopin Ltd, said: "We will focus on mobile platforms, product development, market expansion and mergers in our future operations."