After a bit of a mixed story in the six months of the FY (see Harvey Nash has ‘curate’s egg’ first half), business has picked up for UK-based international recruitment and offshore services firm Harvey Nash. CEO Albert Ellis reported ‘in line’ trading in Q3 (to 28th November) with revenues 19% higher. However, gross margins declined further, with gross profit growth of 6%.
Elliis alluded to market recovery in the US and UK “with the likelihood that Europe will follow”. Nothing wrong with a glass-half-full look on life. While he saw signs of improved demand for permanent recruitment (a key ‘confidence’ measure for world economies) the trend is still firmly pointing towards temporary and contract hiring. Harvey Nash’s Vietnam-based outsourcing (application development) business is treading water with little sight of land. Ellis expects to ‘deliver the numbers’ for the FY (to 31st Jan. ’14).