Business
Trading Update & Equity Placing
Trading Update & Equity Placing.
About this update from Hays Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n \n RNS Number : 5487I\n Hays PLC\n 02 April 2020\n \n \n \n TRADING UPDATE & EQUITY PLACING\n \n \n 2 April 2020\n \n \n \n \n \n Trading update & equity placing\n \n \n Given the rapidly-developing global Covid-19 situation, Hays provides an update on current trading and announces an equity placing \n targeting gross proceeds of approximately £200 million\n . \n \n \n Hays has identified four immediate priorities:\n \n \n · \n Protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of its employees, clients, temps and candidates.\n \n \n · \n Delivering full \n operational capability with remote working and providing high service levels to all our stakeholders.\n \n \n · \n Reinforcing the Group's strong financial position. \n \n \n · \n Positioning the Group to gain market share from blue-chip clients, both in the near-term and as our end markets stabilise.\n \n \n \n \n Current trading\n \n Trading between 1 January and 13 March was in line with our expectations, with like-for-like net fees down c.5% year-on-year. However, since then the rapidly escalating impact of Covid-19 has driven a very material deceleration in client and candidate activity. To date, across our major markets, the impact has been felt most in Europe, and least in Australia. Permanent recruitment (c.42% Group fees) has seen more of an impact than Temporary (c.58% Group fees), and the Private sector (c.83% Group fees) has been more impacted than the Public sector (c.17% of Group fees), which has been broadly resilient. To date, Hays Talent Solutions, our large corporate account business, which predominantly places Temp and Contracting candidates, has also shown relative resilience.\n \n Considering the uncertainties arising from Government restrictions worldwide on working and movement and how long these may remain in place, it is not currently possible to estimate the extent of the impact on the Group's earnings this financial year and beyond. However, we expect the impact will be substantial and Group operating profit for the year to 30 June 2020 is, therefore, likely to be materially below the £190m consensus average shown on Bloomberg (as at 30 March 2020).\n \n \n \n \n Management actions \n \n \n Our Executive team, which has been together for many years and successfully navigated the GFC, and our highly experie...