Recruiter Hays may have grown underlying pre-tax profit by 15 per cent during the year to £122m, but the shares slipped about 8 per cent on the day these figures appeared after management said trading conditions had become more challenging in the second half. Add that to the much reduced dividend, and the shares look set to tread water.
Permanent recruitment volumes - responsible for generating 44 per cent of group net fee income (NFI) - slipped 3 per cent in the period. And while the temporary placement side, which generates the rest, saw volume rise 4 per cent, the underlying margin here slipped slightly to 14.6 per cent. Driven by weakness in the banking and City segments, Hays' UK market proved to be especially challenging and like-for-like NFI here slipped 7 per cent in the year. Hays shut a net 10 offices, leaving it with 245 worldwide. Although it's not all gloom - the Asia-Pacific operation grew like-for-like NFI by 10 per cent, while the continental Europe and rest of the world divisions saw like-for-like NFI rise 23 per cent.
Broker Panmure Gordon forecasts adjusted full-year pre-tax profit of £125.7m, giving EPS of 5.98p.
HAYS (HAS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 71p | MARKET VALUE: | £987m | |
| TOUCH: | 71.05-71.1p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 94p | LOW: 59p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.5% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 14p* | NET DEBT: | 70% | |
| Year to 30 Jun | Net fees (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 787 | 264 | 13.4 | 5.00 |
| 2009 | 671 | 151 | 7.72 | 5.80 |
| 2010 | 558 | 29.7 | 0.48 | 5.80 |
| 2011 | 672 | 111 | 5.69 | 5.80 |
| 2012 | 734 | 122 | 5.47 | 2.50 |
| % change | +9 | +10 | -4 | -57 |
Ex-div:10 Oct Payment:16 Nov *Includes intangible assets of £233m, or 17p a share | ||||
