Profit slumps at Page Group and Robert Walters as jobs market collapses
The slowing jobs market has forced two of the UK’s largest recruiters to reveal painful last-year performances in which profit and revenue nosedived.
Page Group and Robert Walters both posted double-digit falls in overall revenue for the year ended 31 December. The latter’s earnings plunged 16 per cent to £892m, while Page Group’s dropped 13.5 per cent to £1,739m.
Operating profit at Robert Walters – the smaller of the two – fell 80 per cent from £26.3m to just £5.2m due to what the firm described as “an extended period of tough market conditions”.
The fall in profit was slightly less painful at Page, which posted a 55.9 per cent drop to £52.4m.
Net fee income at Robert Walters fell 17 per cent. At Page Group, it dropped 16.3 per cent.
Nicholas Kirk, chief executive of Page Group, said: “Market conditions remained challenging across all regions in 2024, with worsening sentiment and reduced confidence in Europe during the second half of the year.”
Kirk also revealed the firm has reduced fee earner headcount by 500 people over the course of its financial year in an attempt to adjust to a markedly different labour market. Robert Walters disclosed fee earner headcount reductions of nearly 17 per cent.
Both results reveal the immense pressures recruiters face across markets due to the brutal slowdown in the jobs market since the highs of the pandemic.
Firms across the UK have been battening the hatches ahead of swingeing tax rises and cost rises set to come into force in April, though both Page and Robert Waters also have most of their operations abroad.
Robert Walters shares have fallen over 70 per cent since their post-pandemic highs at the start of 2022, while Page Group’s stock has more than halved (51 per cent) since its all-time high in late 2021.
Robert Walters boss Toby Fowlston said it remained “uncertain when a sustained improvement” in the jobs market might arise.
“We have high conviction in the value we add to clients and candidates as a talent solutions provider. The early progress in executing our strategic plan gives us confidence as we drive further momentum in 2025.”