Working days adj net fees down 1%
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor Plus) - London, 15 Oct - UK
recruitment company Hays said that in the first quarter ended
September 30 group net fees increased by 1% on a reported
basis thanks to a modest weakening the sterling while on a
like for like basis they were flat against the prior year.
By region, Australia and New Zealand saw a 2% like for like
contraction of net fees, the UK a 4% drop while Germany was
flat.
The Rest of the World region, which includes 28 countries,
delivered net fee growth of 4%, versus a tough growth
comparative. Growth in Perm, which represented 69% of RoW net
fees, was 6% while Temp was flat.
The EMEA region excluding Germany, which represents 57% of
RoW net fees, delivered 2% net fee growth and was broadly
sequentially stable. The largest RoW country, France grew by
3%, Switzerland by 7% and Italy by 11%. However, net fees in
the Netherlands fell 12%, in Belgium by 7% respectively and
Spain by 6%.
The Americas (23% of RoW) increased net fees by 7% driven by
the US with 12% growth. Mexico grew by an excellent 36%,
although Canada was weaker and fell by 5%. Asia (20% of RoW)
also grew by a good 7% overall, led by a quarterly record in
China, the group's largest Asian country, also up 7%. Japan
grew by 3%, while growth in Malaysia was an excellent 32%.
Like-for-like net fees in both our Temporary (Temp) and
Permanent (Perm) business were flat year-on-year. Temp
represented 57% of Group net fees, and Perm 43%.
There was one additional trading day in the quarter in the
main markets of Australia, Germany and the UK that is
estimated to have increased net fees by around 1%, and
therefore our working day adjusted net fees decreased by 1%
year-on-year. The Group net fee exit rate was in-line with
the calendar adjusted rate of growth in the quarter.
<p>Consultant headcount increased by 1% both
in the quarter and year-on-year. This included the effect of
our annual graduate intake which, as expected, was
significantly lower than in recent years. Hays expects Group
headcount to remain broadly flat in the second quarter of the
fiscal year.
A24-Sch
(RADIOCOR) 15-10-19 20:53:51 (0775) 5 NNNN