Robert Walters takes cautious steps

recruitment firm Robert Walters said it remained cautious on its near-term outlook as weaker client confidence and a turbulent banking sector hamper growth in some of its markets.

Robert Walters yesterday posted a 13 per cent rise in third-quarter gross profit to £48m, down from 24 per cent growth in its second quarter and below an analyst consensus of £50.1m, according to Altium Securities. “Net fee income growth, whilst positive, has slowed as markets have become more challenging,” chief executive Robert Walters said.

“I would remain cautious, certainly for the rest of this year and probably the first half of next year.”

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Mr Walters said the group, which places people in accountancy, banking and IT jobs, would focus on boosting its non-banking business, while continuing to invest in higher-growth markets including China, Brazil and Germany.

“Our view is that we are investing for the long term. We are still opening offices. We are still hiring people, but we are hiring them in areas which are largely unaffected by either the confidence issue or the banking issue,” Mr Walters added.

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