(Reuters) – Recruiter SThree on Tuesday projected subdued hiring activity to persist into fiscal year 2026 and also forecast its annual pre-tax profit well below market expectations.
Inflationary pressures in Europe, alongside recession fears and trade tensions triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, have dampened the confidence of employers and job seekers considering permanent job moves.
“As we look further ahead, we are encouraged by pockets of improving momentum. However, we have not yet seen a broader market recovery and, prudently, do not think this will start to materialise near-term, albeit not worsen,” CEO Timo Lehne said in a statement.
While the group reaffirmed its fiscal 2025 pre-tax profit expectations of 25 million pounds ($34.06 million), it warned that softness in business activity is expected to lower fiscal 2026 profit expectations by around 20 million pounds.
SThree now expects its pre-tax profit for the year ending November 2026 to be about 10 million pounds, compared with average analysts’ consensus of about 30.5 million pounds, according to a company-compiled poll.
The company’s net fees fell 12% to 81.5 million pounds for the three-month period ended August 31 from the prior year.
($1 = 0.7339 pounds)
(Reporting by Raechel Thankam Job in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
