CTPartners Posts Modest Uptick In Revenue

August 10, 2012 – CTPartners Executive Search Inc./(NYSE:CTP) posted second quarter 2012 net revenue of $33.8 million, a two percent increase from $33.1 million a year ago. The firm reported growth in two sectors, consumer and financial, but clearly finding paths to sustained growth remains difficult. Tough times, indeed, are beseeching some of the nation's largest executive search firms. Many are seeing a dramatic rise in social networking and in-house corporate recruiting initiatives drive down the use of their services and, in the process, question the value proposition that headhunters deliver to their clients. But while executive recruiting fundamentals may be weakening, this is far from the norm among all firms in the industry. Egon Zehnder International, a major player in the U.S. and leader in Europe, is enjoying a particularly strong year; moderately sized generalist and niche players are also reporting big gains for the first half of 2012 — among them Diversified Search and Crist|Kolder Associates. "With the global economy as it is I cannot recall a more challenging environment for the recruiting industry," said Scott A. Scanlon, chief executive of industry research firm HSZ Media LLC. "We see a confluence of pressures that may alter the headhunting business in ways unimaginable just a few years ago."