TWST: Please start with a brief history and overview of the company.
Mr. Dameris: On Assignment (ASGN) is a professional staffing firm that's focused on math and science skills, and we typically focus on the highest skill sets within the verticals in which we participate that also garner the highest bill rates and gross margins. We've been in business for nearly three decades, and have grown from approximately $7 million in revenues to the current Wall Street projections of close to $600 million in 2011 and upward of $650 million in 2012. We haven't given full-year guidance for 2012, but about a year and a half ago, we stated that we developed a five-year strategic plan that we expected, based on 10% compounded annual growth and about $0.25 billion of acquired revenues, we could achieve $1 billion in revenues and $100 million of EBITDA by the end of that five years. Currently, there are three and a half years left in that plan. We've been measuring against this goal, and are pleased to be able to state that as of the third quarter of 2011, we were well ahead of where we needed to be to achieve this goal based on the criteria that we set out for our investors.
We think our strategy is right for our business and for our industry. There is a high demand for math and science skills - that's where our economy is going, meaning more knowledge based. So we feel that we are incredibly well positioned, and that's why our business grew organically around 30% in 2011. It was a year for professional staffing companies, and our business will continue to take advantage of the structural changes occurring in the U.S. labor market due to some of the mandated legislation that's coming out related to benefits, protections and costs that employers will now have to deal with. Right now, the staffing industry is experiencing more growth from structural and secular changes in the labor market versus classic cyclical growth because of recovery in GDP.
TWST: How are the economic cycles impacting demand from your clients, and what do you see going forward for the industry in general and On Assignment in particular?
