Hays pre-tax profits fall 43%

3rd Sep 2009 07:02

Recruitment group Hays posted a sharp fall in profits in the year to June 30 and said it was seeing no signs of recovery.Pre-tax profits for the year slid to £151m from £264.4m as revenues fell to £670.8m from £786.8m. The firm retained its full-year dividend at 5.8p.Hays said net fees fell by 29% in its permanent placement business, which represents 44% of group fees, while the temporary placement division, with 56% of fees, was more resilient, seeing a 7% fall in net fees.'The recruitment markets in the past year have been the most challenging on record,' said chief executive Alistair Cox.'However, Hays has performed creditably due to our scale, the strength of our market positions, our early action to address the cost base and our ability to redirect resources to more resilient sectors such as education, healthcare, oil & gas and pharmaceutical.'Hays cut its headcount by 26% during the year and closed 48 offices, mainly in the UK and Ireland. The cost base was reduced by 24%.'Currently we are seeing initial signs of stability in the United Kingdom and Asia Pacific markets although no indications of recovery,' the firm said.'The Continental European markets, which entered the downturn later than the other regions, are still experiencing deteriorating conditions.'It expects 2010 to be another tough year, but says it will seek to take advantage of the downturn to build market share.