Hays plc
Recruiter Hays says fee income drop continues in Q2
Recruitment group Hays PLC reported a further drop in fee income in the second quarter to end-December, particularly in the UK, and said demand for permanent placements continues to fall at an increasing rate in the UK and Australia and has recently fallen in a number of other countries.
Overall, group net fees fell by 6 percent, or 10 percent on a like-for-like basis, from the previous second quarter as market conditions deteriorated in most of the countries in which it operates, Hays said in a trading update.
Demand for temporary placements has been resilient to date across most of the group. It said it expects the usual seasonal weakening in January, but the outlook for the re-engagement of temporary workers after the Christmas holiday is less clear than in previous years.
In the United Kingdom and Ireland, net fees fell by 22 percent versus the same period last year. Hays reduced the headcount in this business by a further 10 percent during the quarter which brings the total reduction to 20 percent over the last 12 months.
In Asia Pacific, net fees decreased by 9 percent. Whilst the temporary placement market in Australia and New Zealand continued to achieve good growth, the permanent placement market saw a marked deterioration in demand levels. In Asia, market conditions weakened as the global economic issues started to impact recruitment.
In Continental Europe and the Rest of the World segments, net fees increased by 21 percent, led by continued excellent growth in Germany, whilst new businesses in Italy, United Arab Emirates, Brazil, Denmark and Hungary also achieved "good growth". However, conditions weakened towards the end of the quarter in a number of countries in the region, including France, Benelux, and Spain.
Register here to be notified of future Hays plc articles.