Daily News
View All NewsKorn Ferry revenue falls 10% in fiscal Q4 due to Covid-19 impact
Fee revenue at Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY) fell 10.2% in its fiscal fourth quarter ended April 30 as Covid-19 impacted business; the decrease was 7.9% in constant currency. The Los Angeles-based global executive search, consulting and RPO firm also reported restricting charges of $40.5 million in its fourth quarter.
CEO Gary Burnison said the company has pivoted to a different way of working, including employees working from home and the virtual delivery of services. And more changes are on the way.
“I truly feel that over the next two years there will be more change than in the last 10 years,” Burnison said. “Different work needs to get done, and work needs to get done differently. That’s an opportunity for our company.”
| (US$ thousands) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change | % change (constant currency) |
| Fee revenue | $440,469 | $490,756 | -10.2% | -7.9% |
| Reimbursed expenses | $8,507 | $11,779 | -27.8% | |
| Total revenue | $448,976 | $502,535 | -10.7% | |
| Net income | ($621) | $50,627 | -101.2% |
Fee revenue fell across Korn Ferry’s segments, except for its “Digital” segment where revenue was bolstered by acquisitions.
Fee revenue by segment
| (US$ thousands) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change |
| Total executive search | $167,855 | $190,888 | -12.1% |
| Digital | $69,269 | $62,719 | 10.4% |
| Consulting | $120,992 | $144,363 | -16.2% |
| RPO and professional search | $82,353 | $92,786 | -11.2% |
In executive search, revenue fell across geographies with the biggest decline in the Asia Pacific.
Executive search fee revenue by geography
| (US$ thousands) | Q4 2020 | Q4 2019 | % change |
| North America | $102,196 | $113,651 | -10.1% |
| Europe, the Middle East and Africa | $39,662 | $45,307 | -12.5% |
| Asia Pacific | $19,737 | $24,373 | -19.0% |
| Latin America | $6,260 | $7,557 | -17.2% |
For the full year, fee revenue was roughly flat.
Full-year results
| (US$ thousands) | FY 2020 | FY 2019 | % change | % change (constant currency) |
| Fee revenue | $1,932,732 | $1,926,033 | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| Reimbursed expenses | $44,598 | $47,829 | -6.8% | |
| Total revenue | $1,977,330 | $1,973,862 | 0.2% | |
| Net income | $107,017 | $104,796 | 2.1% |
Significant uncertainty remains around Covid-19, and Korn Ferry is not issuing guidance for the fiscal first quarter.
Share price and market cap
Shares in Korn Ferry were up 1.19% to $30.73 as of 11:15 a.m. Eastern time; the company had a market cap of $1.67 billion, according to FT.com.