Hays sees full year profits slightly ahead of expectations

Recruitment outfit Hays said full-year operating profit was expected to be marginally ahead of consensus expectations of £209.5m and was considering increasing shareholder returns.

The company said it had ended the financial year with a record quarterly net fee performance.

Fourth quarter net fees increased 15% on a headline basis and 7% on a like-for-like basis against the prior year. The difference between the two was primarily the result of the significant appreciation of the euro and the Australian Dollar against sterling.

“Looking forward to full year 2018, exchange rate movements remain a material sensitivity to the group's reported profitability,” Hays said in a trading update.

“Our International businesses continued to be the key drivers of growth. Europe delivered strong results, led by an excellent performance in Germany, where we have increased consultant headcount by over 20% during the year.”

“Growth in Australia remained strong and was broad-based across all states and specialisms. The underlying trends in the UK remained sequentially stable, with modest improvements in the private sector offset by a tough public sector market.”

Hays said conditions remained “good” in the vast majority of its international markets, while in the UK, market conditions were stable overall.