Hudson Global Posts Flat Q3 Revenues

November 3, 2016 – Hudson Global Inc. / (NASDAQ:HSON) posted third quarter revenues of $108.1 million, down 1.7 percent from a year ago. However, revenues increased 1.6 percent in constant currency. The company recorded a net loss of $1.9 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, compared with net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.06 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2015.

“We delivered solid gross margin growth in seven of our 10 markets in the third quarter, including Australia / New Zealand, Belgium, France and the Americas,” said Stephen Nolan, chief executive officer at Hudson. “RPO gross margin continued to grow globally, led by the Americas, the U.K. and Australia, as we continued to deliver outstanding service and value to our clients.”

Business Outlook

Given current economic conditions, the company expects fourth quarter 2016 revenue of between $95 million and $105 million and adjusted EBITDA of between breakeven and $2.0 million at prevailing exchange rates. In the fourth quarter of 2015, revenue was $106.1 million and adjusted EBITDA was $1.4 million.

Share Repurchase Program

During the third quarter, the company continued its share repurchase program which has an authorization of up to $10 million of the company’s common stock. The company purchased 1,370,199 shares for $2.6 million as part of the repurchase program during the third quarter. Since the inception of the program in the third quarter of 2015 through the end of the third quarter of 2016, the company has purchased 2,846,456 shares for $6.3 million. Upon the release of its third quarter numbers, the company’s shares closed at $1.49. A year ago, they were trading at $2.52.

Shareholder Activity

Separately, Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Hudson Global from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on September 28. In addition, major shareholder Sagard Capital Partners, L.P. sold 1,100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on September 6. The shares were sold at an average price of $1.80, for a total value of $1,980,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Currently, 12.2 percent of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in Hudson. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in the company by 14.8 percent in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 248,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,000 after buying an additional 31,996 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Hudson Global by 2.3 percent in the first quarter. Geode Capital now owns 95,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 2,119 shares during the period. Lastly, Frontier Investment Mgmt Co. boosted its position by 0.8 percent in the second quarter. Frontier now owns 521,901 shares valued at $1,028,000 after buying an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Institutional investors currently own just under 75 percent of the company’s stock.

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