Robert Walters sees annual profit ahead of market view as hiring recovers

July 6 (Reuters) – British recruitment firm Robert Walters (RWA.L) on Wednesday predicted full-year profit above market expectations after posting a 26% jump in its second-quarter net fee income amid a recovery in permanent hiring globally.

Companies in the recruitment sector have been benefiting from a pent-up demand as the industry recovers from COVID-19 pandemic lows, with corporates looking to hire suitable talents amid staffing shortages and employee resignations.

Robert Walters, which specialises in recruitment for accounting, legal, and tech jobs, also said growth continued across all forms of recruitments.

“We have continued to invest in additional headcount to ensure we are able to further capitalise on the current demand for talent that exists across our global footprint and specialist disciplines,” the company’s CEO Robert Walters said.

The British firm’s staff numbers increased by 7% since the end of March.

The company also said non-executive chair Ron Mobed will leave the firm on July 15 and non-executive director Tanith Dodge will take up the role of interim non-executive chair while the board looks for a successor.

Its net fee income (NFI) rose to 112 million pounds ($133.43 million) in the three months ended June 30, higher than 89 million pounds from a year ago.

($1 = 0.8394 pounds)

Reporting by Shanima A in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V

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