Robert Half Posts 11 Percent Second Quarter Revenue Gain
July 30, 2018 – Robert Half International Inc./(NYSE:RHI) posted second quarter revenues of $1.46 billion, up 11.4 percent from revenues of $1.31 billion during the same quarter last year. The results beat Wall Street expectations. Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research had forecasted revenue of $1.43 billion.
The Menlo Park, CA-based recruiting company recorded second quarter profits of $109 million, or 89 cents per share, compared to earnings of $80 million, or 64 cents per share, last year. This also beat Wall Street expectations, which forecasted earnings of 85 cents per share.
“We saw across-the-board strength in our U.S. and international staffing and Protiviti operations during the second quarter, as year-over-year growth rates accelerated versus the first quarter,” said Harold M. Messmer Jr., chairman and CEO of Robert Half. “Favorable global economic trends, a robust job market and positive business sentiment among our small and midsize client base contributed to the strong quarter.”
“We continue to invest in digital innovation initiatives that will seamlessly integrate our customers’ digital experience with our industry-leading traditional professional staffing services,” Mr. Messmer said. “During the second quarter, Robert Half’s return on invested capital was 39 percent.”
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xecutive Recruiters Report Solid Gains in Latest Rankings
The executive search industry’s leading 50 players in the Americas once again surpassed $3 billion in revenues last year, according to industry newsletter ESR, in a market report to be released later this month by Hunt Scanlon Media.
Segment Details
Quarterly results benefited from growth across the company’s U.S. as well as non-U.S. staffing and Protiviti operations and positive business sentiment across the company’s small and midsize client base. A robust job market and favorable economic conditions acted as other major tailwinds for the company’s performance.
- Global Staffing Division: Staffing revenues of $1.2 billion improved 10.1 percent year over year on a reported basis and 8.8 percent on an adjusted basis. U.S. staffing revenues of $930 million, increased 6.7 percent on a reported basis and 6.4 percent on an adjusted basis. Non-U.S. staffing revenues increased 22.4 percent on a reported basis and 17 percent on an adjusted basis to $293 million.
- Protiviti: Protiviti revenues were $234 million, which improved 18.5 percent year over year on a reported basis and 14.2 percent on an adjusted basis, with strength across both the U.S. and non-U.S. regions. U.S. revenues at the segment grew 11.8 percent on a reported basis and 11.5 percent on an adjusted basis to $184 million. The same from international regions surged 51.9 percent on a reported basis and 25.5 percent on an adjusted basis to $50 million.
Outlook
Guidance for the third quarter implies management believes the company’s growth trends will continue. The third quarter revenue guidance range of $1.43 billion to $1.49 billion, represents revenue growth of 10 percent at the midpoint. Q3 income per share guidance range of $0.88 to $0.94, represents growth of 34 percent at the midpoint.
Robert Half shares have increased 24 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has risen 5.5 percent. In the final minutes of trading after the release of its numbers, shares hit $68.97, an increase of 46 percent in the last 12 months.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
