What is currently known about HAYS. I have been tempted to buy a few times over the years but have always missed a buying opportunity.

As far as I can see they look like a buy to me. They have stated that results will in line with expectations. There are possibilities of them selling off a part of the company for a good price. They make good revenue and profits. They pay a reasonable dividend.

This looks good also

3 June 2004

"LONDON (AFX) - Hays PLC plans to return cash to shareholders from the
demerger of its DX mail business announced today.
Speaking to newswire reporters, outgoing chief executive Colin Matthews said
that debt put into the DX group on demerger will liberate cash for return to
shareholders. DX will be demerged by issuing current Hays shareholders with
shares in the new mail group.
Hays has promised cash returns to shareholders from disposals of property
and other assets as part of its restructuring into a standalone recruitment
specialist agency.

Hays has promised that surplus cash from its disposals will be returned to
shareholders and Matthews said Hays will give further details in September."

On track but needs to break 110p.

Q4 Trading Update

Highlights

· Good overall growth of 8%(1) including a c.3%(3) working day benefit
· Full-year operating profit is expected to be c.£180m, ahead of current consensus market expectations(4)
· Excellent cash performance, driving the elimination of the Group's net debt and a year-end net cash position of c.£40 million
· Excellent broad-based growth of 21%(1) in Continental Europe & Rest of World, driven by Germany up 23%(1) and 12 more countries growing by over 20%(1), including Belgium, France and Switzerland
· Asia Pacific growth of 4%(1), with good 6%(1) growth in Australia, driven by public sector. Net fees in Asia decreased by 1%(1)
· UK & Ireland decreased by 4%(1). Public sector markets remained tough, down 8%(1). Private sector was down 2%(1) as client sentiment weakened towards the end of the quarter
· Group consultant headcount was up 3% year-on-year and flat through the quarter

Gap closed.

Trading Statement Tuesday 18th. Good recovery since Brexit vote, grind higher or bomb? Far from madding crowd but volume needs to get a wriggle on.

LATEST BROKER VIEWS

Date Broker New target Recomm.
14 Oct Liberum Capital 145.00 Buy
7 Oct Jefferies... 140.00 Hold
23 Sep Liberum Capital 145.00 Buy
13 Sep Citigroup 135.00 Neutral
2 Sep Numis 130.00 Hold
2 Sep Credit Suisse 125.00 Neutral
2 Sep JP Morgan... 110.00 Neutral
2 Sep Deutsche Bank 105.00 Sell
1 Sep Liberum Capital 130.00 Buy
26 Aug Deutsche Bank 105.00 Sell
Broker Recommendations for Hays

Hays sees solid overall growth

StockMarketWire.com

Recruitment group Hays reports solid overall growth of 3% in the three months to the end of September led by further strong performances in its international businesses, which now represent 73% of group net fees.

Hays said net fees increased 17% on a headline basis and 3% on a like-for-like basis against the prior year, its fourteenth consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth.

The difference between actual and like-for-like growth was primarily the result of the significant appreciation of the euro and the Australian dollar against sterling.

It said: "The impact of these material movements in foreign exchange rates means that if we retranslate the Group's FY16 operating profit of £181.0 million at current exchange rates (AUD1.6015 and €1.1112 as at 14 October 2016), the actual reported result would increase by c.£35 million to c.£216 million."

The exit rate of Group net fee growth was in line with the quarter as a whole, with no significant differences by region.

In the second quarter, there are three fewer working days in Germany versus the prior year due primarily to the timing of public holidays. Hays expects this to have a c.4% negative impact on net fees in Germany, most notably in its Temp and Contractor business.

The Temp business, which accounted for 58% of Group net fees in the quarter, increased by 5% and the underlying temp margin was broadly stable. Net fees in the Perm business increased by 2%.

Consultant headcount was up 2% year-on-year and grew 4% in the quarter as a result of the normal seasonal graduate intake and its continued approach of investing selectively across the Group where market conditions and outlook were supportive, notably in Europe and Australia. As a result, it expects that increases in Q2 will be below those of Q1.

Chief executive Alistair Cox said: "We have started our new financial year well, with continued strength in our International businesses, including all-time records in Germany and France and an acceleration of growth in Australia. Our performance was again consistent and broad-based, as 28 of our 33 countries delivered year-on-year growth(1), 19 of which grew by over 10%.

"In the UK, following a step-down in Perm recruitment activity immediately after the Referendum, the business stabilised, and followed the normal seasonal pattern through the remainder of the quarter.

"Looking ahead, Europe continues to deliver strong, broad-based growth and market conditions remain supportive in Australia and the Americas, where we continue to invest.

"In the UK we have a strong, market-leading and diverse business, led by a world-class management team who are highly experienced in managing through fast-changing and uncertain times. As ever, our focus remains on driving profitable growth in our business, capitalising on long-term opportunities, while maximising earnings and cash along the way."

Well, hasn't bombed (yet). And the beat goes on. Probably not the most exciting stock but steady gains from Brexit vote, no sleepless nights either. Historically from the above chart, finishes well up to Xmas. If it can break 150p fingers crossed, no reason for the pattern to be broken. (I know, famous last words but so far with a trailing stop, gains locked in.).

It's a tease 150p hard to crack, place your bets.

Far from madding crowd :0) but that 150p cracked for now, lower indicators approaching over bought but still reckon more room to the upside.

Taken some profits here, had a great run. Interim results tomorrow. Let the rest run.

Testing support 150p (last resistance)

StockMarketWire.com

Recruitment group Hays posts pre-tax profits of £96.2m in the six months to the end of December - 17% up on last time.

First half operating profit increased to £100m, driven by exchange rate benefits and international profit growth with 18 all-time record country performances, including Germany and France.

Net fees rose to £465.5m - up from £396.9m and the dividend of 0.96p per share is up from, 0.91p last time.

Chief executive Alistair Cox said: "This has been a good first half, with further net fee and profit growth and strong cash generation.

"Conditions remained supportive in many key markets, especially Germany, our most profitable business, where we delivered another all-time record performance, and Australia where activity accelerated significantly through the half.

"In the UK, after a marked step-down immediately after the EU Referendum, markets quickly stabilised and we saw early signs of improvement towards the end of the half in the private sector recruitment market, which have continued into the start of the second half.

"The benefits of our diversified global portfolio and market-leading business efficiency were again clear as we delivered 3% net fee growth, generated £100m operating profit and ended the half with £48m net cash.

"We again invested quickly where market conditions were supportive, increasing our non-UK consultant headcount by 9%, while simultaneously defending profitability in more uncertain markets.

"As a result of this balanced approach, 18 countries delivered all-time record performances, and we maintained our industry leading conversion rate at 21.5%.

"Looking ahead, the scale, balance and diversity of the business we have built, combined with our world-class, highly experienced management teams, stands us in good stead.

"The vast majority of our markets remain positive, we have many opportunities to grow and we look to the future with confidence."

Looks like it is fighting back a wee bit.

Trading Statement week today 14th April.

Update tomorrow 13th not Friday 14th.

QUARTERLY UPDATE
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED
31 MARCH 2017
13 April 2017


Financial summary

Growth in net fees for the quarter ended 31 March 2017 (Q3 FY17)
(versus the same period last year)

Growth
Actual
LFL(1)
By region



Asia Pacific
34%
12%

Continental Europe & Rest of World
34%
18%

United Kingdom & Ireland
(4)%
(4)%

Total
21%
10%




By segment



Temporary
23%
12%

Permanent
19%
7%
Total
21%
10%


Highlights

· All-time record quarterly net fee performance for the Group
· Good overall growth of 10%(1) (underlying growth of c.8%(3) adjusted for working days), driven by the continued strength of our International businesses, which represent c.75% of Group net fees
· Continental Europe & Rest of World, representing 50% of Group net fees, delivered excellent, broad-based 18%(1) growth led by an acceleration to 23%(1) in Germany (c.18%(3) adjusted for working days). France grew 14%(1) and 13 further countries grew by over 10%(1)
· Strong Asia Pacific growth of 12%(1), driven by excellent, broad-based 16%(1) growth in Australia. Asia grew 1%(1) as market conditions stabilised
· UK & Ireland down 4%(1) with activity levels sequentially stable. Private sector, representing 74% of net fees, was down 1%(1) with continued signs of modest improvement, while conditions remained tough in public sector markets where net fees decreased 13%(1)
· Group consultant headcount was up 8% year-on-year and up 2% in the quarter, primarily in Europe
· Solid cash performance, with net cash ending Q3 at c.£40 million (31 December 2016: £47.9 million)
· We expect full year operating profit to be at the top of the current range of market estimates, which we understand to be £199 million to £209 million(4)

Commenting on the Group's performance, Alistair Cox, Chief Executive, said:

"We have delivered an all-time quarterly record net fee performance, capitalising on the many growth opportunities around the Group. This gives us confidence to increase our expectations for full year profits, to the top of the current range of market estimates(4). Growth was broad-based and driven by strong performances in our International businesses. Europe delivered excellent results, led by an all-time record performance in Germany, as we continued to invest in additional headcount. Growth in Australia accelerated further and was strong across all states. In the UK, while the public sector market remained tough, we saw continued signs of improvement in the private sector market.

Looking ahead, conditions remain good in the vast majority of our markets, notably Australia, Europe and North America. In the UK, market conditions remain in line with the underlying Q3 trends. We are unrivalled in our industry in terms of the scale, balance and diversity of the business we have built and our focus remains to drive profitable, cash-generative growth. These strengths, combined with our world-class, highly experienced teams around the world, stand us in good stead and mean we continue to look to the future with confidence."



Group
In the third quarter ended 31 March 2017 Group net fees increased 21% on a headline basis and 10% on a like-for-like basis(1) against the prior year, our 16th consecutive quarter of year-on-year growth(1). The difference between headline and like-for-like growth was primarily the result of the significant appreciation of the Euro and the Australian Dollar against Sterling.

The impact of these foreign exchange movements means that if we were to retranslate the Group's FY16 operating profit of £181.0 million at current exchange rates (AUD1.6660 and €1.1783 as at 11 April 2017), the actual reported result would increase by c.£29 million to c.£210 million.

Q3 had two additional trading days versus the prior year due to the timing of Easter, which this year falls entirely into Q4. This positively impacted activity levels in the major Temp and Contractor businesses, most notably Germany, Australia and the UK. In addition, Germany also benefitted from one extra trading day in the quarter. As a result, we estimate a c.2%(3) positive impact on Q3 Group net fee growth and we expect a commensurate decrease in Q4. The estimated impact on a regional level was c.2% in Asia Pacific, c.3% in Continental Europe & RoW (including c.5% in Germany) and c.2% in the UK & Ireland.

Once the impact of trading days is taken into account, we estimate the exit rate for Group net fee growth to be broadly in line with the underlying performance of the quarter as a whole.

The Temp business, which accounted for 59% of Group net fees in the quarter, grew by 12%(1) and the underlying temp margin(2) was broadly stable versus the prior quarter. Net fees in the Perm business increased by 7%(1).

Consultant headcount was up 8% year-on-year and 2% in the quarter as we continued to invest selectively where market conditions and outlook were supportive, notably in certain European businesses and Australia. We expect that increases in Q4 will be selective and at similar levels to Q3.

Not far from a breakout or bust.

Hayes have a Trading Update For The Quarter Ending 30/06/17 next Friday. Has been trading sideways between 160p - 170p since the beginning of June. I'm long on the spreads any improvement could propel sp to 180p with a tight stop. Possibly being over optimistic reverse could see sp test last resistance 150p. Place your bets.