Hays sees growth across the board in first quarter

9th Oct 2014 08:02

Recruitment firm Hays has made a "good start" to the new financial year with like-for-like (LFL) net fees up 9% in the first quarter.Fees from temporary positions increased by 7% on a LFL basis in the three months to 30 September, while permanent fees rose 12%.The company said every region delivered year-on-year LFL growth in fees, including its three largest businesses in Australia, Germany and the UK."Importantly each of our three largest businesses [...] grew simultaneously for the first time in nearly four years," said chief executive Alistair Cox.In the UK and Ireland, specifically, LFL fees were 13% higher, driven by "excellent" growth in fees from permanent positions of 20%. Jobs in accountancy and finance, construction and property, and IT all delivered fees at least 15% higher than the previous year.Hays also hailed growth of 6% in Asia Pacific, where Australia returned to growth for the first time in two years with fees up 2%.Looking forward, Cox said: "While we are mindful of the risks our world faces today, most of our markets continue to improve and we are focused on capitalising on the opportunities this presents us."The stock jumped over 5% to 124.3p in early deals on Thursday.