TIDMRWA
RNS Number : 2975Z
Robert Walters PLC
11 January 2024
11 January 2024
ROBERT WALTERS PLC
(the 'Company' or the 'Group')
Trading update for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2023
FY23 profit before tax in-line with market expectations;
continued resilience despite challenging market environment
Financial summary
Gross profit (Net fee Q4 2023 Q4 2022 % change % change
income, "NFI") (constant
currency(*)
)
Group GBP91.4m GBP105.3m (13%) (10%)
---------- ----------- --------- -------------
Asia Pacific (43% of Group
NFI) GBP39.6m GBP46.8m (15%) (9%)
---------- ----------- --------- -------------
Europe (34% of Group NFI) GBP30.5m GBP32.8m (7%) (7%)
---------- ----------- --------- -------------
UK (15% of Group NFI) GBP13.8m GBP17.2m (19%) (19%)
---------- ----------- --------- -------------
Rest of World (8% of Group
NFI) GBP7.5m GBP8.5m (12%) (8%)
---------- ----------- --------- -------------
* Constant currency is calculated by applying prior period
average exchange rates to local currency results for the current
and prior years.
Group highlights
-- Group net fee income down 10%*, reflecting the continued
challenging macro-economic conditions across many of the Group's
markets.
-- 85% of Group NFI (2022: 84%) generated in the Group's
international businesses. The proportion of Group NFI contributed
by contract & interim recruitment remained broadly unchanged
(Q3 2023: 33%).
-- Headcount down by 5% quarter-on-quarter and by 9% YoY to
3,980 (30 September 2023: 4,200, 31 December 2022: 4,356), as the
Group continued to focus on driving consultant productivity(1) ,
which improved marginally quarter-on-quarter.
-- Balance sheet remains strong with net cash of GBP79.8m as at
31 December 2023 (31 December 2022: GBP97.1m).
-- FY23 profit before tax in-line with market expectations(2)
.
Regional highlights
-- Asia-Pacific : net fee income down 9%*. Strong performance in
the Group's largest single country(3) of Japan (net fee income
+10%* YoY), whilst South East Asia (flat*) also held up well.
Market conditions in Australia (-27%*) remain muted.
-- Europe : net fee income down 7%*, albeit improved
sequentially versus the previous quarter (Q3 2023: GBP29.3m). Very
strong performance continued in Belgium (net fee income +33%* YoY),
with growth also seen in Germany (+5%*) despite the weak economic
backdrop. Meanwhile, YoY performance was softer in the Group's
largest European markets of France (net fee income -9%*) and the
Netherlands (-17%*).
-- UK : net fee income down 19%. Activity levels remain more
resilient in the regions compared to London.
-- Rest of World : comprising the Americas, South Africa and the
Middle East, net fee income down 8%*. Challenging conditions remain
in the USA (net fee income -9%* YoY), though this was partially
offset by a better performance in Mexico and South Africa.
Toby Fowlston, Chief Executive, commented:
"Despite the challenging macro-economic conditions, the Group
has delivered a resilient fourth quarter and FY23 profit before tax
will be in-line with market expectations(2) . We have a healthy
blend of income streams, a highly diversified international
footprint, and a strong global brand and balance sheet. I am very
proud of our people and how we continue to work through this period
of market uncertainty. We remain confident in the long-term
structural drivers that underpin demand for our services. Our
ongoing focus on productivity, our management of costs, and
commitment to retaining core consultant capacity, positions us well
to capitalise on growth opportunities when conditions improve."
The Group will publish full year results for the year ended 31
December 2023 on 7 March 2024.
- Ends -
(1) Consultant productivity is measured by net fee income per
fee earner.
(2) Company-compiled consensus FY23 profit before tax, the mean
average of five analyst estimates, stands at GBP20.5m.
(3) As measured by net fee income.
Enquiries
Robert Walters plc
David Bower - Chief Financial
Officer
Dami Tanimowo - Head of Investor
Relations
dami.tanimowo@robertwalters.com +44 7340 660 425
Williams Nicolson (Media enquiries)
Steffan Williams
William Barker +44 7767 345 563
rw@williamsnicolson.com +44 7534 068 657
About Robert Walters Group
The Robert Walters Group is a market-leading international
specialist professional recruitment group with over 3,900 staff
spanning 31 countries. We specialise in the placement of the
highest calibre professionals across the disciplines of accountancy
and finance, banking, engineering, HR, healthcare, IT, legal,
sales, marketing, secretarial and support and supply chain,
logistics and procurement. Our client base ranges from the world's
leading blue-chip corporates and financial services organisations
through to SMEs and start-ups. The Group's outsourcing division,
Resource Solutions is a market leader in recruitment process
outsourcing and managed services.
www.robertwaltersgroup.com
Forward looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward-looking statements.
These statements are made by the directors in good faith based on
the information available to them at the time of their approval of
this announcement and such statements should be treated with
caution due to the inherent uncertainties, including both economic
and business risk factors, underlying any such forward-looking
information.
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