Hays Share Discussion Threads

[grabster] 16/10/2024 11:59

UK Budget is a fortnight away. From the hints being picked up so far, what impact might be expected on RWA/HAS/PAGE? And is any one of them likely to respond any differently from the other two?

[andplus] 11/10/2024 13:12

HAYS is a top AND leading recruitment agency that uses LinkedIn and Indeed for its job search engine aggregation and job listings. If the top recruitment agency is reliant on those 2 external portals then an investment in Microsoft and Recruit Holdings Co will make more sense. Sell Hays.

[essentialinvestor] 11/10/2024 12:35

I don't see a buy case atm.

[martinmc123] 11/10/2024 08:58

2*
Another soft quarterly update from recruitment company Hays plc. Net fees in the quarter were down as expected reflecting the tough market conditions, particularly in Permanent where management are seeing a longer time to hire and low levels of confidence. Both are also expected to continue which points to more soft performance ahead. This quarter Group net fees were down 14%, with Temp down 10% and Perm down 20%. Management are continuing to counter the fall in revenue by cutting headcount, consultant headcount reduced by 2% in the quarter and is down by 18% YoY. And also by boosting consultant productivity which was up 5% yoy by focusing on operational rigour and resource allocation. Longer run Initiatives to deliver c.£30m per annum structural savings by the end of FY27 are progressing well, but these cost savings are relatively modest, about 4%-4.5% of total FY23 operating costs. Still every little helps and recruitment businesses are highly cyclical. Share price focused more on the positives this morning, but it remains in a longer run correction. Valuation is also still toppish with forward PE at 19.3x, although this is more or less in line with rivals PAGE and RWA. Not much reason to buy into the sector at present, wait for rate cuts to be delivered and economy to reaccelerate later in 2025...
...from WealthOracle

wealthoracle.co.uk/detailed-result-full/HAS/863

[essentialinvestor] 23/8/2024 09:35

If macro were to weaken from here and a recession is seen in multiple regions. then under 80 pence may be seen.

Depends where you think we are in the wider economic cycle.

[essentialinvestor] 22/8/2024 14:20

The structural cost savings are the relevant ones.

It's relatively easy to make 'cyclical' savings by just cutting fee earners.

[martinmc123] 22/8/2024 14:11

Hays Group posted a softish set of Interims this morning confirming that performance has been challenging, but interestingly the share price has rallied anyway suggesting that all the bad news may now be in the price. Group fees decreased by 12% to £1,113.6m, PBT before exceptionals was down 51% to £94.7m, there was a statutory basic EPS loss of 0.31p. There was weakness in the Group’s 3 largest markets, the US, Germany and Australia. Group headcount decreased 15%, management reduced costs by an annualised c.£60 million and expect to deliver further structural cost savings of c.£30 million per annum by the end of FY27. Valuation isn’t particularly helpful with forward PE ratio at 22.4x and bottom quartile for the sector. But the share price is up nearly 4%. True, the news was maybe not as bad as feared, but there is no rush to buy here. Monitor for now...from WealthOracle

wealthoracle.co.uk/detailed-result-full/HAS/853

[essentialinvestor] 22/8/2024 13:39

Need to look at the pre exceptionals,
they still made over £90 million on pre tax.

Marshall Wace short, just to add.

[gswredland] 22/8/2024 13:30

Yes and outlook was not too good either

[my retirement fund] 22/8/2024 09:54

Interesting, no sell off. That was truly a dreadful set of results!

[gswredland] 22/8/2024 06:59

Worse than I expected.
Let's see how the market reacts

[my retirement fund] 22/8/2024 06:35

Oh dear! Do you still hold EI ?

[essentialinvestor] 11/7/2024 09:24

Better than I expected.
Bought a small amount.

[essentialinvestor] 10/7/2024 22:38

Tomorrow's update likely to be gruesome?.

[darrin1471] 16/4/2024 22:46

Net fees. Double digit falls in all regions

[essentialinvestor] 16/4/2024 22:42

I was suprised at the bounce back near £1 last week, obvs very different today.

[darrin1471] 16/4/2024 22:35

Slightly uglier sister. Q3.

Closing today below the covid low

[essentialinvestor] 23/1/2024 22:13

Will Hays need to to reduce FY 24 guidance with February's update?, would not bet against that.

[sandy133] 09/1/2024 08:37

Oh for the days when this was £4.50

[essentialinvestor] 16/10/2023 11:44

Hi Dave, added a small amount this morning. IF macro continues to weaken
and equity markets sell off hard, under 80 pence is more than possible.

[disc0dave46] 14/10/2023 14:11

Overview of RWS, PAGE and HAS.Https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/stockwatch-are-these-three-shares-canaries-coalmine-ii529474

[disc0dave46] 13/10/2023 18:01

Sharecast - Liberum has kept a 'buy' recommendation on Hays despite the recruitment firm failing to meeting expectations with its first-quarter results, but has trimmed its target price slightly from 125p to 120p. Hays reported on Thursday that like-for-like net fee income fell by 7% in the fiscal first quarter, below the 5% drop expected by analysts. Liberum analyst Sanjay Vidyarthi said he has now reduced his full-year EBIT forecasts by 12%, "bringing us more in line with consensus, which had been drifting down into this update". He says that the EBIT recovery journey "could be a long one", but that Liberum still favours Hays to competitive Page due to its higher exposure to the temp and contract markets. "Hays' higher temp/contract mix provides a degree more protection through the cycle than Page's perm focus. It is increasingly focusing on higher margin and higher growth segments and driving productivity is key. However, the forecast trajectory needs to pick up before the shares can properly re-rate," Vidyarthi said. "As things stand, our FY26E EBIT is little more than what was achieved in FY07. Meanwhile, the balance sheet remains strong enough to weather the storm and there is some yield support (FY24E: 5.5%)."

[essentialinvestor] 13/10/2023 10:59

Hi Dave, Hays is a more geographically focused business (compared to Page and RWA) and that arguably brings risks - Germany their largest market, followed by the UK.

Hays gives more exposure to the temp side than many of the other big recruitment companies. If equity markets continue to sell off and macro also continues to weaken,
you might see Hays trade under 80 pence.

[disc0dave46] 13/10/2023 09:59

Hi EI That would be around £157m op profit?.For HAS Stocko has Pat £117m, so assume pbt £157m, and op profit £161m. Let's say £160m op profit, going on what they said in their Q1 and last years costs I get op profit circa £180m, so are they saying £20m additional cost to "protect key strategic investments"....whatever the F this means?. Sorry I'm just trying to get a handle on how HAS are in relation to forecasts as they don't really say in their Q1 outlook for the year (the cynic in me - beginning in line doesn't mean an end in line), all they mention is operating profit and how that will decline for the year but not much else is given (other than the extra £7.5m) so leaving folks a bit in the dark imo. At least PAGE always update on their op profit forecast so you can pretty much know what bottom line profit is likely to be. Don't know what to take from their outlook tbh, was it a carefully worded profit warning? or are they in line for the year end forecast?, or historically are HAS just a lot better at forecasting and are conservative in their assumptions?. Confused.com