Hays UK arm back in profit as client confidence improves

29th Aug 2013 08:31

Recruitment firm Hays has driven its UK business back to an annual profit after cutting costs and returning to net fee growth in the second half.It said it was seeing early indications of recovery in the UK and Ireland, particularly in terms of improved client confidence.However, difficult conditions in other parts of the world, particularly in the Australian mining regions, meant group pre-tax profits fell to £118.5m in the year to June 30th from £122.4m. The decline reflected a 8% drop in permanent net fees which more than offset 2% growth in temporary net fees.Its UK business swung to profits of £5.6m from a loss of £6.5m last time. In the UK private sector, Hays reported seeing good growth in life sciences, human resources and sales and marketing but said markets remained difficult in banking and City-related roles. The recruitment firm also saw strong net fee growth in Germany, Canada and Russia, countering a 16% slide in net fees in Australia.Chief Executive Alistair Cox described the annual results as "resilient" against a backdrop of "fragile" market conditions.He said: "Looking ahead to 2014 we expect overall market conditions to remain mixed. While some markets are likely to remain challenging there are also clear opportunities for growth."The dividend payment has been left unchanged at 2.5p a share. At 08:57, shares in Hays were down 0.2% at 101.2p.TB