Recruitment specialist Robert Walters reported a reduced contraction in first-quarter net fees on Wednesday, driven in part by a rebound in its largest market, Japan. Income from net fees declined 2% to 65.2 million pounds for the quarter ended March 31, following 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit declines.
Shares of the legal and technology-focused recruiter rose 4% after the update, as the company signalled strengthening confidence in parts of its geographical footprint despite persistent weakness in Europe - most notably in France and the Netherlands.
Robert Walters' chief executive, Toby Fowlston, told Reuters that there were encouraging signs in several markets, including the United States, Britain and Spain. "I think what quarter one is showing us - and again, it is early days - that perhaps there is more confidence returning in some of our markets now in the permanent sector," Fowlston said.
Analysts at Panmure Liberum described the group's update as encouraging, and highlighted Robert Walters' continued emphasis on cost management amid a challenging hiring environment. The firm recruits across finance, accounting and corporate functions, and its exposure to the Asia Pacific region is material - the company derives 42% of its annual net fees from that region. That allocation underpins management's relatively stronger optimism about hiring activity compared with some peers.
By contrast, rival PageGroup - whose primary markets remain Europe, the Middle East and Africa - on Tuesday warned of an increasingly uncertain outlook for the rest of the year, citing the Middle East conflict and softness in Germany and France. Robert Walters said the impact on its business from the Iran war remained limited because the Middle East represents only 2% of its portfolio.
Despite the narrower fee decline, the firm did not alter its full-year guidance for 2026. Management pointed to an uptick in candidate confidence as a factor lifting hiring volumes, noting that some professionals who had remained in their positions since the COVID-19 pandemic were beginning to look for new opportunities.
The company’s quarterly results and commentary sit against a wider sector backdrop in which competitors are managing uncertainty across different regional exposures. Larger rival Hays is scheduled to publish its third-quarter trading update on Thursday.
Context and implications
Robert Walters’ performance reflects a mixed global recruiting backdrop: Asia Pacific strength, led by Japan, has helped offset soft demand across parts of Europe. Management’s unchanged 2026 guidance and the modest improvement in quarterly net fees suggest the firm is seeing early, selective recovery rather than broad-based momentum.
Exchange rate reference: $1 = 0.7376 pounds.