Robert Walters Share Discussion Threads

[18bt] 21/12/2019 13:48

Not obviously any chunky trades going through, but not complaining

[masurenguy] 20/12/2019 18:46

This has now risen by 20% since the trading update just over 4 weeks ago ! :0)

[masurenguy] 17/12/2019 17:21

A 15% rise in the shareprice so far in December. Looking for a final dividend of 12p when the results are announced at the end of February based upon a 12.5% increase on the interim.

[descartes244238] 26/11/2019 15:59

Big jump today with no news I can find

[masurenguy] 19/11/2019 08:33

The shareprice remains subdued since the trading update despite the fact that they are forecasting parallel results with last year. The projected EPS is therefore 50p, which puts them on a PER of just 10 at today's price. After deducting net cash of circa £74m, the EV is only just around 8 ! Despite the uncertainties of Brexit, circa 75% of their revenue and income is from overseas with double digit fee income increases in Asia and continental Europe.

There have been two significant Sells since the trading update was issued on October 8 - a 477.5K Sell on October 15 @470p and a 193.7K Sell on November 1st @527p but other than that share trading volumes have been less than half of the 3 month daily average. Undervalued, and still 30% below the post trading update target price of 740p issued by Liberum last month.

[masurenguy] 14/10/2019 16:37

Nice bounce today on less than half of the average daily trading volume!

[masurenguy] 08/10/2019 13:01

Quite agree Hastings - the fall over the past 24 hours is due to market driven sentiment rather than company specific issues. Liberum issued a new Buy recommendation this morning with a target price of 740p, which represents upside potential of 60% against to today's midprice.

[hastings] 08/10/2019 07:20

Agreed Mas, but clearly the global issues and particularly Brexit are impacting many businesses now.I think RW is better placed than many and I like the strength of the balance sheet. I rather suspect that the recent increase in profit warnings from companies across the board are likely to accelerate in the coming months.

[masurenguy] 08/10/2019 07:08

Although there are references to some "headwinds" there are no nasties in the trading update and full year results are still expected to be in line with the prior year.

-- Group net fee income up 2% (4% actual) against significant political uncertainty in a number of the Group's markets, specifically including:

o Brexit;

o US-China trade tensions; and

o Hong Kong protests.

-- Full year profit before tax now expected to be in line with the prior year.

-- 76% (2018: 72%) of the Group's net fee income now derived from overseas businesses.

-- Asia Pacific net fee income up 3% (9% actual).

o In Asia Pacific, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam and New Zealand delivered the strongest performances; all increasing net fee income in excess of 13%.

o Australia delivered 4% net fee income growth with activity levels highest in Sydney and Melbourne.

-- Europe net fee income up 9% (10% actual).

o Blend of permanent, contract and interim recruitment revenue streams continues to be a key strength.

o Good performance in France, the region's largest business, increasing net fee income in excess of 10%. The Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland all increased net fee income in excess of 15%.

-- UK net fee income down 11%.

o Client and candidate confidence continued to be generally weak in the UK across both the recruitment and recruitment outsourcing markets.

o Certain sectors have proved resilient, particularly across the IT market nationwide, whilst in the regions, Birmingham and Milton Keynes delivered solid growth.

-- Other International (the Americas, Middle East and South Africa) saw net fee income up 12% (18% actual) with San Francisco, Canada and the Middle East performing strongly. Our new businesses in Mexico and Chile have started well.

-- Selective headcount reduction in those markets most affected by uncertainty resulted in Group headcount decreasing by 2% to 4,258 (30 June 2019: 4,323).

-- Strong balance sheet with net cash of GBP81.6m as at 30 September 2019 (30 September 2018: GBP41.3m).

Robert Walters, Chief Executive, commented: "The Group delivered net fee income growth of 2% (4% actual) during the third quarter as trading conditions softened across a number of markets. The ongoing uncertainty surrounding Brexit, the US-China trade tariff standoff and Hong Kong protests, coupled with the significant impact of the gilets-jaunes protests experienced earlier this year have combined to create a unique set of cumulative headwinds. As a result of these macro uncertainties, the Group now anticipates delivering annual profits in line with the prior year. Whilst visibility is limited, the Group's international footprint and diverse blend of revenue streams covering permanent, contract, interim and recruitment process outsourcing ensures we are well positioned to respond to any market opportunities as and when they arise whilst also having the agility to closely manage our cost base."

[masurenguy] 08/10/2019 00:00

Very peculiar share trading performance today. In the last 20 minutes of the session there were suddenly 47 small trades - almost all Sells - which took the shareprice down by 5% to 484p. The overall trading volume for the day was only half the average trading volume over the past 3 months.

The Q3 trading update is due tomorrow so perhaps there was a leak of some bad news in the pipeline. At the interim's just over 10 weeks ago, the Chairman stated that "Trading remains in line with market expectations for the full year and the Group is well positioned to continue to maximise market opportunities as they arise" so clearly nothing particularly negative was anticipated at that time.

[uhound] 07/10/2019 18:17

What's going on here then?

Been a poor investment for me over the last 12 months since I bought in. Time to move on perhaps?

[masurenguy] 02/9/2019 08:52

Liontrust’s small cap team upped their stake in specialist recruiter Robert Walters from just over 5% of the shares to 6.2%.

How have the shares performed? The company has sold off sharply after hitting a record 796p in September 2018 but the strength of the earlier run mean shares remain 50% up over three years. The stock was trading at 508p on Friday.

What does the company say? Sterling’s slide helped deliver a solid boost in the first half, with one third of a 6% increase in profits to £21.9m attributable to overseas earnings. The business said it remained ‘robust’ despite a backdrop of political turmoil which impacted client confidence.

What’s the outlook? Analyst Liberum recently downgraded its guidance from 775p to 740p as it turned more bearish on its sector-wide forecast ‘given we are in the latter stage of the economic cycle’. The City continues to see further mileage however, on a unanimous ‘buy’ and a 764p target.

Citywire.co.uk

[hastings] 13/8/2019 12:10

Liontrust increased its holding I see.

[hastings] 08/8/2019 09:32

I see they've recently launched a new brand in London, bodes well I hope.Https://www.theglobalrecruiter.com/walters-launch/

[masurenguy] 05/8/2019 19:12

An interesting analysis. The main points below also prompted me to take an initial position here.

"RWA is a quality global business where some 74% of its revenues are generated away from UK, thus mitigating downside. Despite obviously being at the mercy of the global economy mood and gyrations, the company has delivered excellent organic growth where from 2014 revenue has gone from £679m to last year’s £1.23bn and which in turn has seen pre-tax profits surge from £11.2m to £49m.

Cash flow per share has been extremely strong too and the return on capital employed a decent measure has also been positive, while dividends have increased markedly from 6.3p to 13.3p in the last four years. Dividend cover, an important yet often ignored element, has been very healthy, which has seen it move from 2.85x to 3.6x and is forecast to register a level of cover at 4x this year.

Having reiterated that it is trading in-line with market expectations, RWA is forecast to deliver full year 2019 adjusted pre-tax profit of £52.3m and EPS of 49.8p, which then moves to £57m and 54.2p next year. That sees the stock at a current £5.14, trading on a PER of 10 falling to just over nine next year. The 12 month high achieved for RWA shares was just over £8, with the low being £4.75, so given the forecasts and an in-line update, then the shares looked attractive to me for an entry."

[hastings] 05/8/2019 18:07

Added some thought to my conviction!https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/business/martin-flitton-shares-views-investment-16704414

[riostroy] 31/7/2019 03:47

Robert Walters Shares Jump On Payout Boost In "Solid" Interim Results - where was this jump??????????? Stupid headliners!!!!

[riostroy] 31/7/2019 03:44

more to fall down!!!

[discodave4] 27/7/2019 21:51

Thanks.Agree it looks undervalued.Good luck

[ronwilkes123] 27/7/2019 21:04

Yes I bought a smallish sum of 555 shares about two-three days ago. I'll buy more in the future. I like this I think it's cheap, ill also need to be patient. The chart shows this should recover in 6 months.

[discodave4] 27/7/2019 20:58

Do you hold?

[ronwilkes123] 27/7/2019 20:43

Well don't buy the shares then Dave if your in two minds Only buy shares you are sure of, second thoughts suggests you shouldn't buy here

[discodave4] 27/7/2019 20:41

Have you ever been in two minds?.........erm I think I have! Lol

[ronwilkes123] 27/7/2019 18:42

Don't buy the shares then save

[discodave4] 26/7/2019 20:57

In two minds, dithering: this is good value IMO, but recruiting not a sector that I'm comfortable with.