Robert Walters Q1 profit up, resumes Japan operations

However, the white-collar recruiter said it may be some time before the market fully recovers in earthquake-hit Japan.

Robert Walters, which specialises in placing people in accountancy, engineering and IT, posted net fee income, or gross profit, of £40.1m, up from £32.6m a year earlier.

Gross profit from the Asia-Pacific region rose 29 per cent, while Europe posted a 32 per cent increase.

“We continue to pursue our strategy of international expansion and diversification, having chosen Brazil, China and Germany as new markets providing strong opportunities for growth,” said chief executive Robert Walters, who established the firm in 1985.

The company, which has 43 offices in 20 countries, said its outlook for the year remained broadly positive.

Shares of Robert Walters closed at 307.75 pence yesterday on the London Stock Exchange. They have lost about 8 per cent of their value since the company said in March that its operations in Japan were impacted by the earthquake.