Korn Ferry International Inc. (NYSE: KFY) yesterday reported fee revenue rose 3% in constant currency to $730.9 million in its fiscal fourth quarter ended 30 April. Executive search and RPO revenue fell by 11% and 9%, respectively, in the fourth quarter.

Korn Ferry said global economic factors put a dent in demand for the two offerings. However, the US-headquartered firm reported a boost in its “professional search and interim” division from acquisitions of Patina, Infinity Consulting Solutions and Salo LLC.

Professional search and interim revenue rose by 52% in the fourth quarter with growth fuelled by the acquisitions, though the increase was partially offset by a decrease in perm placement fees.

Executive search fee revenue was down across all geographies with revenue sliding 6.4% in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), declining 23.2% in Asia Pacific and falling 5.9% in Latin America and 13.4% in North America.

For the full year, the company noted fee revenue reached an all-time high of $2.84 billion.

CEO Gary Burnison said, “The story of this period though is really about the success of our diversification strategy, set forth over the past few years, which has created new revenue streams and offerings, as clearly evidenced by our clients and in our results.”

However, fourth-quarter net income at Korn Ferry fell 48.3% year over year. A restructuring charge of $1.4 million was also included in the quarter as the company realigned its workforce.

Looking ahead, Korn Ferry forecast first-quarter fee revenue to be between $668 million and $698 million, representing a range from a decline of 4.0% to growth of 0.3%.

Burnison also said the company is looking at investment in new technologies.

“With a world immersed in generative AI, Korn Ferry will continue to invest not only in these technologies but also in advancing our proprietary data, assessment instruments and knowledge, as these will be the ultimate differentiators,” he said.

Korn Ferry shares yesterday closed at $48.90, down 3.89% on the day and 9.43% above its 52-week low of $44.69, set on 4 May 2023. The company has a market cap of $2.67 billion.