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Important information: The value of investments can go down as well as up so you may get back less than you invest. Investors should note that the views expressed may no longer be current and may have already been acted upon. This is a third-party news feed and may not reflect Fidelity’s views.

Hays shares fall on slump in fee income, weak jobs market

(Sharecast News) - Shares in Hays fell on Thursday as the embattled global recruitment firm as it reported weaker fee income on the back of an uncertain jobs market.

Chief executive Dirk Hahn said he was "not satisfied" with the company's performance after permanent job fees fell 17% in the half year to December 30 to £241.7m. Temporary fees fell 5% to £341.6m.

Hays issued a profit warning last month and cut more than over 1,000 jobs in response to the global economic slowdown in an effort to save around £30m.

"The half-year saw increasingly challenging conditions, with a clear slowdown in most Perm markets in December, while our larger temp and contracting business again showed greater resilience," Hahn said.

"We acted decisively to drive consultant productivity, better align our operations to market conditions and opportunities, and reduce costs."

"I am not satisfied with our profit performance. Our focused strategy targets the many structural growth opportunities we see, while driving profitability through increased resilience, operational rigour and enhanced execution."

Pre-tax profits slumped 70% to 27.6m.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com

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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

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