In a bumper week for Q1 financials, PageGroup revealed yesterday the UK was the only part of their business not to witness an increase in gross profits in the first quarter of the year, while NFI growth has been more muted in UK for Robert Walters than the rest of their areas of operation.

And it appears Hays has followed that trend with year-on-year NFI up 12%, 16% and 15% in Australia & New Zealand, Germany and the Rest of World respectively contributing to an overall 10% increase in group NFI. 

However, NFI fell 2% in the UK over the same period, with private sector NFI down 3% and public sector down 2%.

Commenting on the group’s performance, CEO Alistair Cox pointed to a good quarter for the group’s international business but a “subdued” picture in the UK.

“We have delivered another good quarter with 20 of our 33 markets achieving double-digit growth, including nine all-time records, and our International businesses up 15% overall. Our largest overseas businesses of Germany, Australia and France grew strongly, and we saw excellent progress in the Americas and Asia. The UK remains subdued, although overall that business was broadly stable.

“Looking ahead, conditions remain positive in the vast majority of our markets. With the largest and most balanced global platform in our industry, combined with our focus on investments to drive profitable, cash-generative growth, we are very well-positioned to capitalise on the many opportunities we currently see in our markets. We continue to look to the future, including our five-year plan to broadly double profits by 2022, with confidence."

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