Analysts at RBC Capital Markets are pessimistic about a near-term recovery for corporate recruitment firm Hays PLC (LSE:HAS).
Hays continued a streak of poor quarterlies when it reported a 15% year-on-year fall in net fees last Friday.
This has spurred RBC analysts into reducing their 2025 and 2026 earnings-per-share estimates by 21% and 36% respectively, “as we push out our assumptions for recovery in staffing activity to the right”.
“Our assumptions for net fee growth change by a much smaller quantum, but (Hays’) desire (in common with peers) to preserve capacity sees sharp adverse operating leverage in the short term,” they added.
Recruiters across the board have suffered from a sharp downturn in hiring trends and employer confidence, with PageGroup PLC (LSE:PAGE) posting similarly bearish results today.
RBC cuts its Hays share price forecast from 125p to 110p against a current share price of 83.6p.