Robert Walters share price up as recruitment company hikes its final dividend as profits prosper for year ended December 2015
Share price in Robert Walters rose today as the recruitment company announced an increase to both its profits and its dividend for the year ended December 2015.
The recruiter revealed that profits before tax had rocketed to £22.4m, up 23 per cent from £18.2m the year before, while revenue had increased to £812.7m, up 20 per cent from £679.6m.
The company also announced a final dividend of 5.13 pence per share, up 18 per cent from 4.35 pence per share in 2014.
Share price for the recruitment company was trading up 3.8 per cent at 309.25p shortly before 2:30pm London time.
"The group has delivered another year of strong profit growth," said chief executive Robert Walters. "This performance has been underpinned by growth across both emerging and established recruitment markets, across permanent, interim and contract recruitment as well as in our recruitment process outsourcing business."
The company also revealed that it had undergone a recruitment drive of its own, boosting its headcount to 2,916, up 11 per cent from 2,631 the year before.
In the UK, the recruiter delivered net fee income of £80.4m, up 13 per cent compared with the prior year's £71.1m, and operating profits of £6.2m, up 17 per cent from £5.2m, despite witnessing a slowdown in the financial services market during the fourth quarter.
Walters added: "Looking ahead, while mindful of ongoing global market uncertainty we believe that the strength, depth and diversity that the group now has in terms of geography, discipline and revenue streams ensures that we are well positioned for the future."