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View All NewsRobert Half’s Q4 revenue down 1% on same-billing day, constant-currency basis
Professional staffing firm Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) reported revenue fell 3.0% in the fourth quarter and was down 1.0% on a same-billing day, constant-currency basis. US temporary staffing and consulting revenue fell 4.9%.
The Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm has 325 staffing locations worldwide, including 83 locations in 17 countries outside the US.
| (US$ thousands) | Q4 2016 | Q4 2015 | % change | Q4 2016 constant currency (same billing days) |
| Net service revenue | $1,265,073 | $1,304,594 | -3.0% | -1.0% |
| Gross margin | $519,202 | $540,081 | -3.9% | |
| Gross margin percentage | 41.0% | 41.4% | ||
| Net income | $77,788 | $93,443 | -16.8% |
Quote
“Revenue growth for the first two weeks of January was down 2.6% compared to the prior year,” CFO Keith Waddell said in a conference call with analysts.
“Global permanent placement negative revenue growth rates were fairly consistent throughout the quarter with December revenues down 4.2% versus a 4.9% decline for the full quarter,” Waddell said. “So far in January permanent placement revenues are down 18.8% compared to the same period last year. This information is dying to offer a glimpse into trends we saw during the fourth quarter and in January, but as you know, we hesitate to read too much into these numbers as they represent very brief periods of time and they cover holiday periods which can be volatile.”
Revenue by segment
| (US$ thousands) | Q4 2016 | Q4 2015 | % change | Q4 2016 constant currency (same billing days) |
| Accountemps | $425,158 | $438,383 | -3.0% | -0.8% |
| OfficeTeam | $239,858 | $251,614 | -4.7% | -3.0% |
| Robert Half Technology | $159,400 | $167,551 | -4.9% | -3.4% |
| Robert Half Management Resources | $144,865 | $150,353 | -3.7% | -1.3% |
| Robert Half Finance and Accounting | $94,469 | $101,667 | -7.1% | -- |
| Protiviti | $201,323 | $195,026 | 3.2% | 5.3% |
Revenue growth by geography and temp/perm
| Year-over-year revenue growth rates (constant currency, same billing day) | ||||||
| 2015 | 2016 | |||||
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | |
| Global | ||||||
| Accountemps | 7.6% | 7.5% | 8.3% | 6.5% | 4.9% | -0.8% |
| OfficeTeam | 8.3% | 5.8% | 3.7% | 0.6% | -1.3% | -3.0% |
| Robert Half Technology | 15.4% | 10.2% | 6.2% | 0.9% | -1.4% | -3.4% |
| Robert Half Management Resources | 2.9% | 7.1% | 7.7% | 9.4% | 3.7% | -1.3% |
| Temporary and consultant staffing | 8.3% | 7.4% | 6.7% | 4.5% | 2.1% | -1.8% |
| Permanent placement staffing | 13.6% | 8.2% | 8.6% | 2.1% | -4.5% | -4.9% |
| United States | ||||||
| Temporary and consultant staffing | 9.8% | 8.2% | 7.3% | 3.5% | 0.6% | -3.5% |
| Permanent placement staffing | 16.1% | 10.5% | 11.6% | 2.7% | -5.0% | -8.1% |
| International | ||||||
| Temporary and consultant staffing | 3.1% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 8.9% | 8.8% | 5.3% |
| Permanent placement staffing | 8.9% | 3.5% | 2.0% | 0.8% | -3.4% | 2.9% |
Full-year revenue
| (US$ thousands) | FY 2016 | FY 2015 | % change |
| Net service revenues | $5,250,399 | $5,094,933 | 3.1% |
| Gross margin | $2,160,676 | $2,114,471 | 2.2% |
| Gross margin percentage | 41.2% | 41.5% | |
| Net income | $343,389 | $357,796 | -4.0% |
Guidance
The company forecasts first-quarter revenue of $1.25 billion to $1.31 billion. The midpoint of the guidance implies a year-over-year revenue decline of 2% on both the reported and same-day constant currency basis.
Share price and market cap
Shares in Robert Half fell 9.28% to $45.29 in early afternoon trading today, and the company had a market cap of $5.75 billion, according to Yahoo.