REG - Robert Walters PLC - Q4 2023 Trading Update

Robert WaltersAnnouncement

11/01/2024 07:00

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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 income, "NFI")  Q4 2023  Q4 2022   % change  % change (constant currency(*))

 Group                                 £91.4m   £105.3m   (13%)     (10%)

 Asia Pacific (43% of Group NFI)       £39.6m   £46.8m    (15%)     (9%)
 Europe (34% of Group NFI)             £30.5m   £32.8m    (7%)      (7%)
 UK (15% of Group NFI)                 £13.8m   £17.2m    (19%)     (19%)
 Rest of World (8% of Group NFI)       £7.5m    £8.5m     (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 £79.8m as at 31 December
2023 (31 December 2022: £97.1m).

§ 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: £29.3m). 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 £20.5m.

(3)As measured by net fee income.

 

Enquiries

 

 Robert Walters plc

 David Bower - Chief Financial Officer

 Dami Tanimowo - Head of Investor Relations                                 +44 7340 660 425

 dami.tanimowo@robertwalters.com (mailto:dami.tanimowo@robertwalters.com)

 Williams Nicolson (Media enquiries)

 Steffan Williams                                                           +44 7767 345 563

 William Barker                                                             +44 7534 068 657

 rw@williamsnicolson.com (mailto:rw@williamsnicolson.com)

 

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 (http://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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