July 25 (Reuters) – Randstad (RAND.AS), the world’s biggest staffing firm, on Tuesday beat expectations for second quarter core earnings, despite a difficult macroeconomic environment.
Its underlying earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) were 271 million euros ($300.05 million) in the three months to the end of June, against 260 million expected by analysts in a company-provided poll.
The earnings were, however, down compared with the 308 million euros posted in the same period a year earlier.
“We have seen performance levels below the record results achieved in the same period last year,” said CEO Sander van’t Noordende in a statement.
Staffing companies – whose performance is often seen as a bellwether of broader economic health – have flagged low confidence and a weaker market this year as a grim economic outlook leads some employers to cut jobs, freeze hiring or turn to temporary workers.
Randstad said revenue grew in the Asia-Pacific and Latin America, with “mixed trends” seen in Europe and a decline in North America.
The company said on Tuesday it expects its gross margin in the third quarter to be “slightly lower sequentially”.
