(Reuters) -PageGroup on Wednesday warned its annual profit would fall short of analysts' expectations after a fall in its quarterly net fees, knocking shares in the global recruiter.
Shares in PageGroup fell 3.4% in morning trade, dragging peers Robert Walters and Hays (LON:HAYS) down 4.4% and 1.4%, respectively.
The company reported a 7.9% fall in third-quarter net fees on a constant currency basis, with double-digit declines across regions, including a 19% fall in the United Kingdom and a 25% drop in the United States.
"Looking ahead, due to a slower end to the quarter, there is a heightened degree of uncertainty in the short term," Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Kirk said in a statement.
Given what is happening geopolitically and in global fixed income markets a slower end to the quarter suggested such "caution is warranted", RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote in a note.
The UK-based company sees operating profit for the year to Dec. 31 at 125-130 million pounds ($154-$160 million).
The outlook range excluded a 5 million pound hit it would take from cost control measures announced in September.
Analysts on average expect the company to log annual profits of 131 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.
British employers cut their job vacancies for the first time in more than two and a half years in September and reduced hiring again, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said on Wednesday, adding to signs of a cooling labour market.
British recruiters are witnessing a drop in net fees, as candidates continue to show reluctance to switch jobs and companies take longer to hire.
Robert Walters on Tuesday kept its annual outlook after posting a fall in third-quarter net fees.
PageGroup, which has operations across 37 countries, in September announced new targets of 1.5 billion pounds in shareholder returns and 400 million pounds in operating profits by 2030.
($1 = 0.8140 pounds)