Robert Walters set to beat expectations as hiring picks up across the globe
Recruitment boss Robert Walters says he “cannot deny the signs” of optimism as his eponymous firm reports full-year profits are set to be “significantly ahead” of expectations.
In a second quarter trading update issued to markets this morning, Robert Walters reported 25 per cent profit growth on the same period last year to £89m, driven in large part by significant increases in Asia Pacific.
The firm also saw 9 per cent growth year-on-year in the UK, with recruitment most lively in the capital across commerce, finance, legal and technology.
Shares were up by more than six per cent in mid-morning trading.
Read more: Huge spike in recruitment as permanent jobs up 90 per cent year-on-year
Walters said the firm was looking to push up activity in the US and Germany.
But Walters did raise the issue of potential recruitment shortages as the balance between recruiters and candidates is currently not “well-matched.”
“There are distinct shortages (of qualified candidates,” he told City A.M., citing cyber security and tech as sectors suffering particularly.
Many in London’s tech ecosystem have flagged concerns about the capital’s talent pool, with fears that a combination of the pandemic and more onerous restrictions on EU citizens coming into the UK could see other areas take the lead.
But Wise Chief Financial Officer Matt Briers, ahead of the fintech darling’s direct listing today, told City A.M. he felt the tech industry was already “at a critical mass” in the capital.
Read more: Covid: Work from home guidance to be scrapped from 19 July