Recruiter Hays shares fall after swing to loss; restructuring launched

Hays PLC on Thursday said it swung to a loss in its recent financial year, as it grappled with challenging market conditions in recruitment markets globally and took exceptional charges.

Hays shares were down 5.8% to £67.30 on Thursday morning in London. The stock remains up 6.0% in the past 12 months.

The London-based recruiter reported a pretax loss of £54.5 million in the financial year that ended June 30, compared with a £1.5 million profit the year before. The financial 2025 profit itself had been down 90% from a profit of £14.7 million in financial 2024.

Exceptional costs nearly tripled to £89.6 million in financial 2026 from £30.7 million in financial 2025. The financial 2026 items includied a £45.1 million restructuring charge and £26.6 million in costs relating to the rationalisation of the company's global property portfolio.

Operating profit before exceptional items increased by 7.0% to £48.6 million from £45.6 million, or 3.0% on a like-for-like basis.

Basic loss per share widened to 3.64 pence from 0.49p.

However, Hays kept its final dividend unchanged at 0.29p per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 0.44p, down 65% from 1.24p.

Net fees were £905.5 million in the recent financial year, down 6.9% from 972.4 million the year before. Within that, net fees were down 6.3% in Germany, 9.5% in the UK and Ireland, 2.8% in Australia & New Zealand, and 7.4% in the Rest of World division.

The exceptional charges incurred by Hayes related to the "significant restructurings" undertaken by the company in "response to changes in the recruitment market".

The restructuring efforts are part of the company's 'momentum strategy', which is focused on serving a narrower portfolio of 16 countries, with the aim of improving productivity, profitability and returns.

In Europe, these will include the so-called DACH countries of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as the UK & Ireland, Southern Europe - consisting of Spain, Portugal and Italy - Poland and France. Outside of Europe, Hays will focus on Australia & New Zealand, North America - US and Canada - India and Japan.

Hays said it expects to incur further exceptional costs for the restructuring programme in financial 2027, but it said it is committed to "materially lower" exceptional costs thereafter.

"Our new momentum strategy addresses the future hiring needs of our clients, sharpens our focus and captures the benefits associated with market leadership", Chief Executive Officer Mark Dearnley said.

"As we leverage our sources of competitive advantage, we will drive higher market share, further material productivity growth and a significant reduction in overhead costs generating increased profitability, client and candidate satisfaction, long-term growth and improved return."

Looking ahead, Hays said trading has been in line with current expectations, with no significant change to activity levels from the fourth quarter. "September is the key trading month in our first quarter, and it is too early to assess trends," it said.

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