LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Robert Walters posted a drop in third-quarter net fee income on Tuesday as conditions in Europe remain challenging, although it was a marginal improvement on the previous quarter.
Group net fee income fell 12% at constant currency from the same period a year earlier to £69.6m.

Asia Pacific, Europe and the UK saw declines of 6%, 24% and 4% to £33m, £18.9m and £12m, respectively. Net fee income in Rest of World fell 23% to £5.7m.

The company said there had been a sequential improvement versus the second quarter in Asia Pacific and the UK, but conditions in Europe remained difficult.

Interview levels in specialist recruitment increased quarter-on-quarter, particularly in Asia Pacific and the UK, it added.

Chief executive Toby Fowlston said: "Our year-on-year fee income performance during the third quarter improved slightly compared to the second, albeit with some divergence across our geographic portfolio.

"Encouragingly, Asia Pacific, our largest segment by net fee income, saw broad-based improvement and UK specialist recruitment grew year-on-year. Europe, however, continued to be challenging. Whilst we are seeing signs of sustained improvement in a select number of hiring markets, overall conditions globally remain fragile. As such, our planning assumption continues to be that recovery in hiring markets will develop very gradually."

At 0830 BST, the shares were up 8.7% at 127.12p.

Email this article to a friend

or share it with one of these popular networks:

• DIGG
• FACEBOOK
• STUMBLEUPON
• MIXX
• YAHOO BUZZ
• DELICIOUS
• REDDIT
• NEWSVINE