In what's likely to become a familiar refrain, SThree (STHR) said employers in the UK had become increasingly reluctant to take hiring decisions in the run-up to the EU referendum. Although Brexit's impact on the City has been garnering plenty of column inches, the fall-away at the half-way mark wasn't confined to the domestic banking and finance sector, as the gross profits SThree derives from energy and engineering placements also slowed down significantly. There was a near one-third drop in gross profit from UK permanent placements during the second quarter.
SThree doesn't rely solely on its home market, which is just as well given the additional impact of the newly introduced rate caps on public sector business. The group's fastest-growing region remains continental Europe, where net fees from permanent and contract placements were up 18 per cent year-on-year.. The group's key information and communication technology arm also produced a strong showing.
Prior to these figures, UBS predicted net earnings of £30.6m for the November 2016 year-end, leading to EPS of 21.9p (from £26.4m and 19.9p in FY2015).
| STHREE (STHR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 227p | MARKET VALUE: | £291m | |
| TOUCH: | 227-238p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 400p | LOW: 227p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 6.2% | PE RATIO: | 11 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 40p* | NET DEBT: | 8.6% | |
| Half-year to 31 May | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 404 | 14.1 | 7.5 | 4.70 |
| 2016 | 443 | 12.8 | 7.3 | 4.70 |
| % change | +10 | -9 | -3 | - |
Ex-div: 3 Nov Payment: 9 Dec *Includes intangible assets of £11.9m, or 9.3p a share | ||||
