The Caldwell Partners Inc. (TSX:CWL) said it’s currently seeing an increase in executive search bookings, but a difficult market in its fiscal first quarter affected its fiscal second quarter ended Feb. 29. Revenue fell 17.2% year over year at the Toronto-based firm in the second quarter to C$17.9 million (US$13.1 million).

Caldwell reported earnings on April 11.

“We saw modest sequential improvement in our results, as the softness in executive search bookings that we experienced in the first quarter dampened our second quarter revenue,” CEO John Wallace said in a press release. “There has been a measurable uplift in new executive search bookings and activity so far this calendar year, and we therefore anticipate significantly higher revenue in the third quarter.”

The increased confidence comes as Caldwell’s executive-level clients look to fill out their executive teams.

“There are still suppressed hiring levels at the mid-level, which is impacting IQTalent on a more prolonged basis than Caldwell,” Wallace said. “Positively, beginning next quarter, IQTalent will realize the benefit of significant cost reduction initiatives. The Nashville office lease termination and the right sizing of software license agreements to reduced headcount levels will further align our cost structure with current revenue levels.”

Second-quarter revenue at IQTalent was down 42.2% year over year. IQTalent provides on-demand talent acquisition augmentation as a managed service to clients.

Wallace foresees revenue growth at Caldwell for the remainder of the year.

“Our executive search team has leveraged their wealth of experience and knowledge to navigate what has been a challenging market,” he said. “We do expect higher search volumes as hiring demand continues to improve. Our clients appreciate our ability to support their talent acquisition requirements across every level, ensuring a seamless experience.”

Click to enlarge.

Share price

Shares in Caldwell were up 5.56% to C$0.76 (US$0.55) as of 11:16 a.m. Eastern time today. They were 16.92% above their 52-week low.