Contract order book of £156 million, down 6% Group net fees down 12% year-on-year Shares down 62% over the past year Shares in SThree (STEM) plunged 20% in morning trading as the specialist recruitment firm warned of 'subdued' activity well into full year 2026. The company said macro uncertainty had 'persisted for longer than expected, impacting levels of new business activity.' > More...

Earnings in line but dividend cut Job market not yet turned up Analyst predicts downgrades While on the one hand, today's (21 Aug) full-year results from recruitment firm Hays (HAS) were no worse than expected, on the other there was no sign the gloom surrounding the job market is set to lift any time soon, leading one broker to suggest earnings downgrades were likely. The shares initially...

Staffing stocks have been terrible performers in recent years, and Hays (HAS) is no exception with its shares currently trading at their lowest level in more than a decade. Therefore, the firm's full-year results and outlook will be keenly watched when it reports on 21 August. After the post-Covid 'great retirement', which spurred a dash for talent and a corresponding increase in fee income,...

Net fee income down 12% Weakness in France and Germany Full-year profit target confirmed Shares in PageGroup (PAGE) fell over 3% to 258p in morning trading as the recruiter reported a disappointing set of results for the six months ending 30 June. The company reported a 12.3% fall in half-year net fee income to £389.7 million compared with £444.1 million last year due to 'subdued levels of...

Stocks in London closed mostly lower on Wednesday, pulled back amid reports that US President Donald Trump may soon remove Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell from the role. London's blue-chip index had earlier traded in the green, shrugging aside stronger-than-expected inflation data. The FTSE 100 index closed down 11.77 points, 0.1%, at 8,926.55. It had earlier traded as high as 8,972.29....

European stocks were mostly higher on Wednesday midday, shaking off hotter-than-expected UK consumer price inflation, and a steep fall in Renault shares which weighed on automotive peers. Eyes stateside will be on a producer price reading, particularly in light of Tuesday's consumer price print which weighed on Treasuries. The US banking earnings season continues, meanwhile. The FTSE 100 index...

Full year outlook reaffirmed First half net fees fall 14% Signs of improvement A reduced rate of sales decline and reaffirmation of previously announced guidance was sufficient to give specialist recruitment firm SThree (STEM) a 10% boost on Tuesday (24 June). Shares in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics focused recruiter are down over 40% in the last year following a profit...

Earnings to miss forecasts Perm market still poor No sign of an upturn yet In its pre-close year-end trading update, staffing firm Hays (HAS) cut its operating profit forecast and warned weakness in the global job market was likely to persist into 2026. The shares fell as much as 14p or 20% to 55.7p before recovering to 61p for a loss of 9p or 13%, marking an all-time low for the stock. > More...

Just over five years ago the stock market began to react in earnest to news of the Covid pandemic.The sell-off was short and sharp, with a modest recovery from the lows in the spring followed by sharper gains in November 2020 after AstraZeneca (AZN) made a vaccine breakthrough.However, a large number of UK stocks are still trading below the levels they were at by the close of trading on 21...

London's blue-chips were higher around midday on Thursday, but fresh falls in the pound and bond market angst kept domestically-focused stocks on the back foot.The FTSE 100 index was up 46.80 points, 0.6%, at 8,297.83. The FTSE 250 was down 95.22 points, 0.5%, at 19,857.02, and the AIM All-Share lost 0.68 of a point, 0.1%, at 719.43.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.6% at 830.81, the Cboe UK 250 lost...

Specialty recruitment firm SThree (STEM), which focuses on filling roles in science, technology, engineering and mathematics settings, posted a downbeat trading statement for the 12 months to November and drastically cut its forecast for earnings for the current year.The shares, which were previously down just 11% for the year, slumped as much as 39% intraday before recovering and now stand...

Fees down 14% in Q1Significant savings being deliveredHays to 'benefit materially' once markets reboundHeadhunter Hays (HAS) has had a hard time of late. Pre-tax profits plunged more than 90% in the year to June 2024 and the recruiter is on a losing streak of negative fee income growth amid a hiring slowdown.The FTSE 250 firm's fortunes failed to reverse in the first quarter of the new...

City-based headhunter Hays (HAS) has had a rough time over the last 12 months, posting four consecutive quarters of negative growth in fee income. Worse still, the rate of decline actually accelerated over that period to stand at minus 17% at the end of June.Therefore, investors and analysts will be looking for less-bad news when the company updates the market on its first-quarter performance...

Stock prices were higher in London, Paris and Frankfurt on Thursday, while the UK got a boost in a flash purchasing managers' index reading, ahead of weekly US jobless data.The FTSE 100 index was up 11.79 points, 0.1%, at 8,295.22. The FTSE 250 was down 18.70 points, 0.1%, at 21,168.49, and the AIM All-Share was down 0.54 points, 0.1%, at 776.27.The Cboe UK 100 was up 0.2% at 829.44, the Cboe...

Stock prices in Europe were mildly higher on Thursday morning, as investors await the start of the Jackson Hole conference on Thursday which could indicate clues on the trajectory of US interest rates.Amongst individual stocks, JD Sports Fashion saw its shares jump, after updating shareholders on its second quarter growth. Eckoh also took some of the spotlight, after receiving a takeover offer...

Recruitment firm Hays (HAS) is one of the worst-performing stocks of 2024, having lost 15% since start of the year, and we don't have high hopes when the company reports full-year earnings next week. Falling client and candidate confidence has knocked fee income for six, and in a trading update last month the firm said its 'exit rate' in the fourth quarter to June was down 18% on last year due...

Second-quarter fees down 12%June exit rate even worse, reversing 18%Firm cuts full-year profit goalFTSE 250 firm PageGroup (PAGE) sent the European staffing sector lower across the board after warning soft trading in the second quarter meant full-year profits would be below expectations.PageGroup shares fell as much as 60p, or 15%, to a 12-month low of 360p before recovering to trade down...

Profit from permanent recruitment down 18.6%UK gross profit falls by 19.2%Headcount reduced by 100Shares in PageGroup (PAGE) fell 6% to 456p after the recruitment firm reported a 12.8% fall in group gross profit to £219.7 million for the first quarter of 2024.CEO Nicholas Kirk warned: ?The slower end to the fourth quarter of 2023 continued into the first quarter 2024, particularly within...

2023 operating profit to disappointClient and candidate confidence weakeningNet cash on balance sheet offers comfortShares in PageGroup (PAGE) weakened 2.5% to 445p after the staffing specialist warned profits for the 2023 calendar year would disappoint with low levels of client and candidate confidence delaying the recruitment process, particularly in the permanent jobs market.Judging by the...

Sharp slowdown in UK job marketShare prices fall across the sectorInterim earnings guidance cutThe European staffing sector became a sea of red on Tuesday with share prices down sharply after FTSE 250 bellwether Hays (HAS) posted a grim account of trading in the three months to the end of December and warned half-year profits would miss expectations.Hays shares were down as much as 19% to 87p...