Hiring boom puts Robert Walters on track to beat profit expectations

Recruitment giant Robert Walters has said profits are set to beat expectations after it benefited from the hot hiring market.

Shares in the company lifted on Wednesday morning after the London-listed company said it was boosted by a “strong” jobs market over the past three months.

Net fee income increased 26% to £112 million for the three months to June 30, against the same period last year, marking a record quarter for the business.

It said profits for the financial year are now expected to be “slightly ahead of current market expectations” as a result.

The company said it saw growth across all areas of the recruitment industry, including both permanent and contractor workers.

UK income increased by 13% to £20.4 million for the quarter as the firm highlighted increased recruitment activity in London and in other regions.

It said the UK market showed particularly strong demand for permanent roles, with a strong rebound in the financial services sector.

It comes after job vacancies jumped to a new record level of 1.3 million in May.

Robert Walters, chief executive of the business, said: “The jobs market has remained strong, and I am delighted that the group has delivered a record second quarter performance with net fee income increasing by 25% year-on-year.

“We have continued to invest in additional headcount to ensure we are able to further capitalise on the current demand for talent that exists across our global footprint and specialist disciplines, with staff numbers increasing by 7% since the end of March.

“This continued strong performance means that profit for the full year is now expected to be slightly ahead of current market expectations.”

Shares were 4.1% higher at 530p in early trading.