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World – Robert Walters reports strong gross profit growth

07 July 2015

Robert Walters (RWA: LSE), the international recruitment firm, reported Group net fee income for the second quarter ending 30 June 2015 of £60 million, an increase of 15% in constant currency (CC) compared with £53.9 million during the same quarter last year.

Net fee income during Q2 2015 was as follows:

  Q2 2015 Q2 2014 Change Change CC
Asia Pacific £25.8 million £23.6 million +10.0% +12.0%
UK £20.1 million £16.9 million +19.0% +19.0%
Europe £11.2 million £10.9 million +3.0% +16.0%
Other Int’l £2.9 million £2.5 million +13.0% +7.0%
Total Group £60.0 million £53.9 million +11.0% +15.0%

The company’s trading update did not disclose revenue or operating profit developments.

Robert Walters, eponymous chief executive, commented: "We are pleased to report another strong set of quarterly results with net fee income increasing 15% in constant currency. Particularly encouraging is the exceptional growth we are seeing from our newer businesses in emerging markets in Asia. This progress, coupled with the strength of our established recruitment businesses and Resource Solutions, provides a solid platform for future growth.”  

"The Group's continued strong trading performance, underpinned by our ongoing focus on consultant productivity enables us to continue to deliver operational gearing. The Board is confident that despite FX headwinds, profit for the year will be ahead of current market consensus."

According to the company’s financial statement, growth remains strong across both London and the UK regions, with financial services and commerce finance performing particularly well. The company’s Resource Solutions brand, which provides Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) and Managed Service Provision (MSP), delivered another good quarter of net fee income growth.

Growth in Asia Pacific was driven by excellent progress in Robert Walters’ emerging markets, with Vietnam. Korea, Indonesia, and Taiwan all reporting net fee income growth in excess of 100%.

The second quarter marked the third successive quarter of growth in Australia. Japan and Hong Kong also continued to perform well.

The growth in Europe stemmed from reportedly “standout performances” in Spain, Ireland, and the Netherlands.

The ‘Other International’ region comprises the US, the Middle East, South Africa, and Brazil.

In early trading today, the company’s share price rose by 6.4% to £4.39, an increase of 41.5% compared with a year ago. Based on its current share price, the company has a market value of £335.8 million.