Robert Half Posts 5.2 Percent Revenue Gain, U.S. Up 5.7 Percent
April 26, 2019 – Robert Half International Inc./(NYSE:RHI) posted first quarter revenues of $1.47 billion, up 5.2 percent from the same period a year ago. The results fell short of Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for revenues of $1.5 billion.
For the quarter ended March 31, the Menlo Park, California-based company recorded net income of $110 million, or 93 cents per share, compared to the prior year’s first quarter earnings of $96 million, or 78 cents per share. This also failed to meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 96 cents per share.
“We saw solid revenue growth in our staffing and Protiviti operations during the quarter, both in our U.S. and non-U.S. operations,” said Harold M. Messmer Jr., chairman and CEO of Robert Half. “Persistent tight labor markets globally continue to result in heightened demand for our professional staffing services. During the first quarter, return on invested capital for the company was 41 percent.”
Global Staffing Division: Staffing revenues of $1.22 billion were up 2.4 percent year over year on a reported basis and 6.9 percent on an adjusted basis. U.S. staffing revenues of $931 million increased four percent on a reported basis and 5.7 percent on an adjusted basis.
Protiviti: Protiviti, its global consulting division, posted revenues of $252 million, an increase 21.5 percent year over year on a reported basis and 17.3 percent on an adjusted basis. Protiviti revenues from the U.S. rose 14.9 percent on a reported basis and 16.8 percent on an adjusted basis to $192 million. Protiviti recently launched a cyber risk quantification as a service offering in alliance with RiskLens, a provider of quantitative cyber risk management software. Through quantitative risk analysis using hard data, the offering enables CIOs and CISOs to answer their board of directors’ questions about the effectiveness of their cybersecurity program with confidence, make better decisions about budgets and technology investments, and assist in meeting regulatory requirements.
Executive 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.
Robert Half was recently named to Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Recruiting Firms 2019.” Robert Half ranked No. 1 on the list of top professional search firms. “We are honored to be included on the list of “America’s Best Recruiting Firms,” which reflects the views of those who know our industry best – recruiters, HR professionals and job candidates,” said Mr. Messmer. “Our teams provide outstanding service to our clients and candidates every day, and this is recognition for their efforts.”
New Director
During the quarter, Robert Half elected Julia Coronado to its board of directors. Ms. Coronado is president and founder of MacroPolicy Perspectives LLC, which provides economic research on monetary policy and global macroeconomic developments. A noted financial market commentator and labor expert, she previously served as chief economist for Graham Capital Management, chief economist for North America at BNP Paribas and senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital in New York.
Robert Half shares have risen 20 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased 17 percent. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $68.79, a rise of 18 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
