"I'm going to pat myself on the back," says Robert Walters ' (RWA) eponymous chief executive. The professional recruiter has done the "hard graft" of investing and expanding during the global economic downturn, and is now in the "sweet spot to reap all of the rewards".
The group, which has offices in 24 countries, grew operating profit by 41 per cent to £5.3m last half. That reflected strong performances in mature markets such as the UK, where it grew gross profit by a fifth to £32m and more than tripled its operating profit. It also saw early gains in emerging markets such as Thailand and Malaysia, and benefited from Japan's acute shortage of bilingual professionals.
The headcount rose 13 per cent to just below 2,500. The added manpower helped the company grow gross profit - net fee income in the industry jargon - by 4 per cent to £102m at group level. It maintained last year's 70-30 mix of permanent to contract income, which has somewhat insulated earnings from a slump in full-time hiring.
But the company continued to struggle in France and Australia, where political skirmishes over employment laws and mining sector weakness have dented confidence. And although it saw renewed demand for UK accountants and lawyers, the key financial services sector remained muted.
Broker Numis expects pre-tax profits of £13.2m this year, giving EPS of 11.1p, rising to £17.1m and 14.5p in 2015.
| ROBERT WALTERS (RWA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 313p | MARKET VALUE: | £241m | |
| TOUCH: | 314-318p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 363p | LOW: 235p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.8% | PE RATIO: | 33 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 96p* | NET CASH: | £14.7m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 289 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 1.54 |
| 2014 | 310 | 5.0 | 4.5 | 1.65 |
| % change | +7 | +36 | +36 | +7 |
Ex-div: 3 Sep Payment: 17 Oct | ||||
