June closed as a quietly strong month for the Group. Headcount climbed to 1,839 active employees across our 35 entities — a gain of 4.2% month-on-month — while the blended attrition rate eased to 3.8%, its lowest reading since February. Billing revenue held its trajectory at roughly S$6.8M for the month, spread across 597 active client accounts. The headline number to watch, though, sits quietly in the compliance section below: one entity's Work Permit quota utilisation has now crossed 96%, close enough to the ceiling that it deserves board attention before it becomes a hiring constraint.
Most of the month's growth came from one place: the semiconductor and electronics vertical, where a single client relationship — Meridian Semiconductor Pte Ltd — nearly doubled its deployed headcount in the space of a quarter. That expansion alone accounted for roughly a third of net new headcount added Group-wide in June, and it is the clearest evidence yet that the sector pivot flagged earlier this year is translating into deployed bodies, not just pipeline.
"We added more people to one semiconductor account this quarter than we lost across the entire F&B and retail book combined — that's the shift in Elitez's centre of gravity, in one sentence."
A twelve-month climb, with June as the steepest step yet
Active headcount has grown in nine of the last twelve months, but June's +74 net adds was the largest single-month gain since the series began tracking in this format. The chart below reads left to right like the year itself: a soft dip around the Lunar New Year contract cycle, a slow spring recovery, and then June's acceleration as semiconductor and data-centre deployments came online.
Beneath the topline, the mix is shifting too. Work Permit holders still make up the majority of the deployed workforce, reflecting our core cleaning, F&B and facilities lines, but the S Pass share has crept up two points since January as the semiconductor and logistics accounts scale — a trend worth watching alongside the levy note further down.
Billing kept pace with headcount, almost to the decimal point
Group billing revenue for June came in at approximately S$6.8M, up 3.1% on May, across the 597 client accounts currently active on our books. That near-lockstep relationship with headcount growth (4.2%) is a healthy sign — it suggests the new deployments are being billed at broadly consistent blended rates rather than diluting margin to win volume, though Finance will confirm this once the adjusted-OP bridge for June closes.
Payroll processing itself ran cleanly: 99.4% of payslips were released on or before the scheduled disbursement date, with the small remainder attributable to two entities awaiting late timesheet submissions from client sites rather than any internal processing delay. CPF and levy remittances for all 35 entities were filed on schedule.
One relationship scaling fast, one winding down deliberately
Two client stories are worth reading side by side this month — not because they offset each other numerically, but because they illustrate where the book is heading.
Meridian Semiconductor Pte Ltd
Deployed headcount grew from 60 to 105 workers over the quarter as Meridian brought a second fabrication line online. Elitez now supplies technicians, cleanroom support and logistics coordinators under a single master services agreement.
Bay & Fern Retail Group
Reduced deployed headcount by 18 roles this month following the planned closure of two suburban outlets. The relationship remains active and in good standing — this is a footprint decision on their side, not a service issue.
Net-net, client concentration continues to improve: no single client now represents more than 2.1% of Group billing, down from 2.6% a year ago, as the book diversifies away from a handful of large F&B and retail anchors and toward a broader base of mid-sized industrial and tech accounts.
Attrition eased to 3.8%, and end-of-contract exits still dominate
The blended attrition rate for June was 3.8%, down from 4.1% in May and comfortably below the trailing twelve-month average of 4.4%. Encouragingly, the improvement was broad-based rather than concentrated in one entity or sector. Reading the reasons behind each exit tells the more useful story: natural contract cycling, not dissatisfaction, remains the dominant driver.
One entity is now 96% of the way to its Work Permit dependency ceiling
Group-wide, Work Permit quota utilisation sits at a comfortable 87%. But Elitez FM Services Pte Ltd, our facilities-management entity, closed June at 96% utilisation against its sector dependency ratio ceiling — leaving headroom for only a handful of further hires before a new entity or a quota transfer is required. Total levy expense across the Group for June came to approximately S$612,000, in line with budget. Separately, MOM's revised S Pass qualifying salary thresholds take effect from September 2026; we estimate 14 current S Pass holders will need a compensation review to remain compliant.
Four items for the July leadership review
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The FM Services quota ceiling
Decide whether to open a sister entity or negotiate a quota transfer before the 96% utilisation blocks further hiring on active FM contracts.
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210 contracts up for renewal in August
A larger-than-usual renewal cohort falls due next month, concentrated in the cleaning and F&B segments — the same segments driving the "better pay elsewhere" attrition reason above.
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September S Pass salary threshold changes
14 S Pass holders identified for compensation review ahead of MOM's revised qualifying salary rules taking effect.
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Semiconductor pipeline follow-through
Two further semiconductor prospects are in late-stage discussion; if either converts, Workforce Planning will need a faster onboarding runway than Meridian's quarter-long ramp.