ManpowerGroup Revenue Declines Eight Percent Citing COVID-19 Impact

April 23, 2020 – ManpowerGroup / (NYSE:MAN) posted first quarter revenues of $4.6 billion, a decrease of eight percent from the same period a year ago. The company said it is focused on managing costs and is withholding guidance given the uncertainty when governments will ease stay-at-home restrictions.

The Milwaukee-based recruiting company recorded net earnings of $1.7 million for the quarter, or $0.3 per diluted share, compared to earnings of $53.5 million, or $0.88 per diluted share, during the same period last year.

Get Our Latest Report! Find Out How Top Talent Enriches Returns

For private equity firms, nothing impacts an investment return more than talent. Why? Institutional investors increasingly see portfolio company talent management as a crucial lever for value creation, risk mitigation and growth. But there is a fundamental shift underway at PE firms. They are moving beyond traditional views of human resources to something more transformative – with a heavy emphasis on talent management & development, culture and engagement. According to this latest landmark research report from Hunt Scanlon, it all has to do with unleashing higher levels of leadership performance to boost results. And that has required a hard look at value creation and how top talent enriches returns. 

This year, Hunt Scanlon interviewed private equity leaders and their chief talent officers as well as leading executive recruiters from across the sector. Expertise was shared from leaders at Russell Reynolds Associates; Bain & Company; The Carlyle Group; Notch Partners; Francisco Partners; TPG; Frederickson Partners; Clayton, Dubilier & Rice; Coulter Partners; Hogan Assessments; Summit Partners; Apollo Global Management; Audax Group; Summit Leadership Partners; Slayton Search Partners; PierceGray; Caldwell; Acertitude; Blackstone; Ares Management; Solomon Page; CEO.works; JM Search; Diversified Search; HREquity; Invenias; FMG Leading; Innova International; Wilton & Bain; Bowdoin Group; Charles Aris; Kingsley Gate Partners; StevenDouglas​ and others from across the PE spectrum.

If you are a PE managing director, operating partner, talent professional or recruiter, this report is designed specifically for you. Insert an ad in our report, reserve your copy today and find out how you should adapt your business in these uncertain times. 

“The COVID-19 crisis has significantly disrupted the global economy, our clients and the demand for our services,” said Jonas Prising, chairman and CEO of ManpowerGroup. “The speed and magnitude of change in market conditions in the last few weeks of March was unlike anything we have seen in our over 70 year history. Our organization moved swiftly to execute our business continuity plans and to provide necessary support to our people, our clients and our communities. I want to thank our more than 28,000 employees for remaining steadfast in supporting our clients and associates through a very challenging environment.”

“We have a very experienced global management team that has gone through a number of recessions and we come into this crisis with clear strategic priorities and a strong balance sheet,” Mr. Prising said. “I am very confident we will manage through this difficult period while continuing to advance key strategic initiatives. I believe this will allow us to emerge from this crisis better positioned to capture growth and market share,” he said. “As we cannot forecast when governments in certain major markets will be lifting current work restrictions, we will not be providing guidance for our second quarter earnings.”

During the quarter, ManpowerGroup repurchased 871,000 shares of common stock for $64 million during the quarter. Shares in ManpowerGroup were up 4.2 percent to $64.52 upon the release of its first quarter numbers. The company had a market cap of $3.63 billion.

New Launch

ManpowerGroup also announced the launch of Talent Solutions, combining three of its current global offerings – RPO (Recruitment Process Outsourcing), TAPFIN MSP (Managed Service Provider) and Right Management – to provide innovative solutions and end-to-end, data-driven capabilities across the talent lifecycle.

Talent Solutions will focus on providing seamless delivery, best-in-breed technology and extensive workforce insights across multiple countries at scale, from talent attraction and acquisition to upskilling, development and retention.  This new combination of offerings will leverage industry expertise and an understanding of what talent wants to deliver new solutions that address organizations’ complex global workforce needs, said ManpowerGroup.

“Companies globally are reporting the highest talent shortages in a decade and now more than ever they need innovative, scalable solutions to find and develop the best talent to succeed,” said Mr. Prising. “That’s why we are pleased to be launching Talent Solutions today. This combination of global offerings – RPO, TAPFIN MSP and Right Management – means we will be even better positioned to deliver new solutions and create added value to serve our clients’ increasingly complex global workforce needs.”

Stefano Scabbio, regional president Southern Europe and brand leader for Talent Solutions, said: “I’m excited about the evolution of our brand with the launch of Talent Solutions to better meet the unique needs of our clients. By leveraging ManpowerGroup’s consulting and analytics capabilities, we can provide clients with precisely what they want — expert offerings, integrated and data-driven workforce solutions, and seamless implementation across multiple countries.”

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media