SThree net fees fall amid global slowdown

Specialist science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) recruiter SThree reported a 6% year-on-year decrease in net fees for the first quarter on Tuesday, attributed to a highly successful prior year and continued challenging market conditions.

The FTSE 250 company said contract net fees, constituting 84% of total net fees, experienced a 2% decline.

Despite the decrease, SThree said it was still in a robust financial position, boasting a net cash balance of £97m as of 29 February, compared to £64m at the end of February last year.

The contractor order book saw a slight 1% year-on-year decline, amounting to £184m.

It said that still showed exceptional visibility, equating to about four months of net fees, positioning the company as a leader in the sector.

SThree said its technology improvement programme continued to progress as planned and within budget. Notably, half of the designated cities in Germany had started implementation.

Looking ahead, the company said its performance for the 2024 financial year would align with market expectations.

“Once again, we have delivered a good performance against a strong comparative and within a market environment that remains difficult from a new business perspective,” said chief executive officer Timo Lehne.

“Whilst the sentiment we are reporting is much the same as the prior period, the strength of our contract extensions continues to be a particular highlight, demonstrating our clients' need to retain critical STEM skills and flexible talent.

“We continue to make good progress with our technology improvement programme, with our new end-to-end integrated platform now fully deployed in the US and initiated in Germany, providing our teams with the digital tools which will be key to driving both scale and higher margins over the mid-to-long term.

“Whilst we look forward to the easing of the macro environment, our strategic focus, exposure to long-term megatrends, and progress to date delivering operational enhancements provide us with a resilient and financially robust foundation with the capacity and improved capabilities to deliver our ambitions and future growth.”

At 0907 GMT, shares in SThree were down 1.31% at 418.43p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.