By Leah Montebello
Recruitment firm Robert Walters continues to cash in on the competitive labour market, with gross profit jumping 22 per cent in the third-quarter.
The British firm said net fee income climbed 26 per cent year-on-year to £112m in the three months ending 30 September.
“The macro-economic backdrop became more uncertain as the quarter progressed. Nevertheless, job flow remained largely strong, candidate shortages remained acute, wage inflation continued to grow,” said chief executive Robert Walters.
The company said 84 per cent of its net fee income was now rooting from international business across Asia Pacific and Europe.
Walters said “the more volatile political and economic backdrop” in the UK knocked local market confidence, resulting in a six per cent decline in UK net fee income year-on-year.
It also cited a tougher base for comparison as a reason for this lag, with 2021 representing a post-pandemic recruitment boom.
However, AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould is unconvinced. “UK has generally lagged Robert Walters’ overall pace of growth since summer 2016’s Brexit vote, after the initial surge that followed the referendum,” he said.
“This won’t be an undue source of discomfort for Robert Walters, as the firm generates more than 80% of its fees from overseas. But it will have politicians, economists and central bankers on alert, especially as eponymous CEO Robert Walters does flag a softening in confidence in the UK jobs market, thanks to ‘the more volatile political and economic backdrop.”
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