Hays looks abroad for growth

6th Oct 2011 07:42

Hays, the recruitment firm, has seen like-for-like worldwide growth of 15% in net fee income with its Asia Pacific arm achieving 21% growth in the three months to the end of September.The UK and Ireland, however, has posted a 4% like-for-like (LFL) decline, with private sector growth of 2% offset by public sector markets, which were down 24%.The international operations of Hays account for 68% of fees for placing people in jobs. 19 countries in its international network achieved net fee growth of 20% or more, with Brazil and China both growing by more than 40%."Whilst we are mindful of the increasing macro economic uncertainty around the world, trading remains robust in the vast majority of our International markets," said Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays. "In the UK, we have seen a further slowdown in private sector growth, although public sector markets remain broadly stable on a sequential basis," Cox added.For once, there was little difference in the growth rates of the Temporary and Permanent placements parts of the business. The Temporary placement business saw LFL net fee income growth of 16% while the Permanent placement arm saw LFL growth of 15%.The group's underlying temporary placement margin remained broadly stable and in line with the previous quarter. The consultant headcount increased by 6% during the quarter, driven by ongoing investment in Asia, Continental Europe and South America. New offices were opened in Cologne in Germany and Guangzhou in China during the quarter, while Hays Colombia, the group's 31st country operation, was launched in July.BS