Randstad Reports Quarterly Profit Above Expectations

By Michal Aleksandrowicz

(Reuters) – Randstad, the world's largest employment agency, reported a quarterly profit slightly exceeding expectations as trading conditions stabilized despite a challenging macroeconomic environment, leading its shares to rise over 4%.

Globally, hiring has slowed as workers avoid the risk of changing jobs in uncertainty, while employers are cautious about recruitment due to inflation and higher interest rates.

CEO Sander van‘t Noordende stated, "We have continued to focus on execution and operational discipline, balancing field capacity with strategic investments."

On Tuesday, Randstad also announced plans to acquire Zorgwerk, a Dutch digital healthcare marketplace, for approximately 323 million euros. Third-quarter earnings before interest, taxes, and amortization (EBITA) came in at 196 million euros ($212 million), slightly above the average analyst expectation of 192 million euros.

Quarterly revenue of 6.02 billion euros fell 5.9% organically, slightly worse than analysts' expected 5.6% decline. Revenue per working day decreased by 9% in North America and 8% in Northern Europe, while in Southern Europe, the UK, and Latin America, it remained relatively stable at -2%.

Analyst Konrad Zomer of Oddo described the results as solid given the challenging market conditions, noting that the stabilizing circumstances were a positive surprise.

Regarding the upcoming U.S. election, van‘t Noordende mentioned to Reuters: "Getting the elections behind us is the most important thing," indicating that Randstad's clients would benefit from clarity about the economic environment and would "start adjusting their strategies."

He also pointed out that uncertainty around the election and high interest rates have made clients reluctant to invest in infrastructure and hiring.

($1 = 0.9242 euros)