Kforce Inc. (NASDAQ: KFRC), a provider of IT and finance/accounting staffing, reported first-quarter revenue fell 2.6% year over year to approximately $406.0 million. Technology temporary staffing (flex) revenue edged up 1.4% at the Tampa, Florida-based firm, but finance/accounting staffing revenue fell 27.9%.

“While first-quarter revenues were at the low end of our guidance, our technology staffing and solutions business continued to grow on a year-over-year basis even off of tough prior-year comparables,” President and CEO Joseph Liberatore said.

Overall, temporary staffing (flex) revenue at Kforce — both technology and finance/accounting — fell 1.6%, while direct-hire revenue was down 30.7%.

“Though clients continue to move forward with mission-critical projects, broadly speaking, they appear to be exercising restraint against the backdrop of the current macroeconomic uncertainties as it relates to technology spend that can be moderated without significant impacts,” Liberatore said.

He added secular drivers of technology demand remain strong despite the recent cooling environment. These secular drivers had accelerated after both after the Great Recession and the pandemic.

“As has been widely reported this earnings season, sales cycles have been longer than usual because of the uncertainties in the macroeconomic environment,” Chief Operations Officer Kye Mitchell said. “However, client sentiment indicates that they’re committed to starting new projects that are mission critical, and we have seen many recent wins across multiple industries.”

Guidance

Kforce forecast second-quarter revenue of between $392 million to $400 million, a year-over-year decline of between 13.0% and 15.3%.

Share price and market cap

Shares in Kforce were down 4.12% to $53.16 as of 11:38 a.m. Eastern time; they were 7.71% above their 52-week low, according to FT.com. The company had a market cap of $1.3 billion.