Robert Walters swings to first-half loss amid ‘challenging’ markets

In the six months to the end of June, the company swung to a pre-tax loss of £2.3m from a profit of £8.1m in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell to £459.3m from £548.3m and group net fee income - gross profit - declined 14% to £166.1m, "reflecting the rebasing in hiring market conditions relative to the post-pandemic peak".

The company pointed to "challenging conditions" in current hiring markets. It noted that since markets reached their most recent peak in the second quarter of 2022, there has been "a material, and now sustained" period of lower client and candidate confidence.

Chief executive Toby Fowlston said: "Our near-term planning assumes that any material improvement in confidence levels will be gradual, and likely not occur before 2025, however 2024 is not a lost year.

"We are implementing the key elements of our medium-term plan to further strengthen the business. We are pursuing the right actions to continue to differentiate Robert Walters on the quality of its service, drive higher penetration in our existing markets, and improve productivity and people efficiency. We look forward to sharing fuller details on our activities at our capital markets event in September."