MARKET REPORT: Hays profits plunge as headhunter struggles to fill vacant positions

FTSE 250 headhunter Hays laid bare the difficult task of recruiting as the recruiter outlined other cost savings.

He said that while there were plenty of jobs available, he was struggling to fill positions due to low trust between clients and candidates.

This meant that the time required to recruit part-time and permanent staff was longer.

The situation was not helped by the fact that Germany, its largest market, had public holidays, resulting in the country having two fewer working days.

This caused the group’s net fees to fall 14% to £1.1bn in the year to the end of June, while profits plunged 92% to £14.7m.

Hays, which recruits for industries including technology, accountancy, finance and engineering, has also cut costs by £30m, with business volumes moderate at

Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland. He added that September is the key month in the first quarter, but “it is too early to assess trends.”

The company, which employs more than 11,000 people in 33 countries, has set itself a target of saving £30m a year over the next three years.

Chief executive Dirk Hahn said this would allow it to benefit from the industry’s recovery and ultimately return to, and exceed, its peak profits of £250m. Shares gained 2.5%, or 2.4p, to 97.4p.

The FTSE 100 rose 0.06%, or 4.57 points, to 8288.00, but the

The FTSE 250 fell 0.4%, or 82.49 points, to 21,104.70.

Outsourcing firm Serco will receive £250m as part of a four-year deal that began this month to upgrade the backup power plant at Pituffik space base in Greenland. The site supports US missile defence and space surveillance missions. Serco added 1.3%, or 2.2p, to 175.5p.

United Utilities, which rose 1%, or 9.2p, to 982.4p, rose after investment bank UBS advised clients to buy shares in the water company because of factors such as its “sustainable dividend”.

Admiral also benefited from an upgraded rating after the insurer revealed last week that it had benefited from higher UK motor premiums following a surge in customer numbers.

Analysts at Jefferies upgraded the blue-chip company from underperform to hold and raised their target price from 2,300p to 3,025p.

As a result, the shares rose 1.7%, or 49p, to 2,951p.

Novayct saw much higher profits after the molecular diagnostics company received a nice lump sum.

Last month it submitted a claim for £12.2m in VAT to the tax office relating to bills from the Department of Health and Social Care that will now go unpaid after settling a two-year dispute.

The payment has increased Novayct’s cash position by more than £7m and lifted it 21.7%, or 19.6p, to 110p.

Scottish media company STV Group said its studio division will produce the second series of Criminal Record, a London-set thriller, for Apple TV.

Other renewals were for BBC One and iPlayer programmes, and Channel 4. It rose 5.2%, or 13.5p, to 272p.

EBIQUITY plunged after the media data firm warned that a decline in client spending will hit profits.

The group, which helps brand owners make investment decisions, expects to report a 7% drop in revenue to £37.9m for the first six months of 2024.

And profits, which were expected to have fallen 61% to £2.3m over the period, will be below previous annual forecasts.

Shares fell 31.6%, or 12p, to 26p.