Hays 2008 Preliminary Results

LONDON, September 2 /PRNewswire/ --     Hays, the specialist recruitment 
company, today announced a 17 per cent
rise in operating profits, earnings per share up 24 per cent and a dividend
increase of 16 per cent despite an increasingly difficult economic back drop
in the second half of the year.



    After a year in the job and in his first interview with Cantos, Alistair
Cox, Hays Chief Executive, gives an overview of the business and strategy and
details how the company is responding to the short-term downturn in some key
markets whilst diversifying into new geographies and additional specialist
recruitment sectors.



    He explains that with visibility of just three to five weeks, it is
important to ensure that the operating model is as flexible and efficient as
possible.



    "We don't try to predict the market; we try to make sure that the
business can adapt very quickly to the market as the market changes," he
said. "Our aim is to make sure that we get the right balance between the
long-term goal of building the best business globally in this industry with
the medium-term goal of putting in the right systems and processes and the
short-term tactics to deal with the current market ebbs and flows in the
different economies."



    Also, Paul Venables, Group Finance Director, talks about the results, the
financial strength of Hays and the outlook for the company.



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