Hays PLC (LSE:HAS) saw its shares drop over 5% to the lowest since the 2008 financial crisis after the dividend was 'rebased' and the recruiter revealed that trading in July and August has shown little improvement, with the global hiring downturn now extending beyond three years.
Adjusted EBITA came in at £45.6 million for the year to June, in line with guidance given in June.
The FTSE 250-listed company said it had delivered £35 million in savings, exceeding its earlier target of £30 million. A further £45 million in structural cost reductions is planned by the 2029 financial year.
However, faced with a second consecutive year where dividend cover would be below its 2-3x target range, together with a trading outlook decribed as "uncertain", the final dividend is to be cut to 0.29p per share, with the total rebased to 1.24p, down 59% year-on-year, so that it "more appropriately aligns to the group's current level of profitability and affordability".
CEO Dirk Hahn said: "Market conditions remained challenging during the year, with economic and political uncertainty weighing on confidence, increasing 'time-to-hire' and reducing placement volumes.
"Despite making significant strategic and operational progress towards our long-term ambitions, our overall financial performance was impacted by these headwinds."
He concluded: "I am confident we have the right strategy and people and we remain well positioned to drive material net fee and profit growth when key markets recover."
The shares dropped to 3.3p to 60.5p, after earlier falling below 60p for the first time since October 2008.