Hays shares held up as recruiter stuck by its dividend despite profit drop

Hays Plc (LSE:HAS) shares closed 2.53% higher on Thursday, at 97.4p, with investors taking on the chin a sharp decline in pre-tax profit – down some 92% to £14.7 million for the year ended.

It is, after all, a surprise to no one that the recruitment sector is not currently booming.

Hays shares are down nearly 11% in 2024 to date.

In Thursday’s results, Hays reported a 14% reduction net fees to £1.11 billion, with the recruitment firm noted reductions in client activity and also longer hiring processes.

Operating profit was down 47%, to £105 million. And Hays is now looking to make £30 million of annual cost savings by 2027.

Nonetheless, it is also keeping shareholders engaged by keeping its dividend at 3p per share.

"We saw increasingly challenging market conditions through FY24 in both Perm and Temp, with low confidence levels and longer-than-normal 'time-to-hire', and our profitability was significantly impacted, including our three largest markets of Germany, Australia and the UK,” chief executive Dirk Hahn said.

Hahn added: “Our actions are better positioning Hays to benefit when markets recover, and when they do, we can return to, and then exceed, prior peak profits."