Robert Walters (RWA), Cohort (CHRT), Me Group International (MEGP) and SolGold (SOLG)
Confidence is unlikely to return to the jobs market this year, according to recruiter Robert Walters (RWA), which has reported a double-digit drop in fees. In the first half of 2024, net fee income fell by 14 per cent at constant currency to £166mn, with “macroeconomic turbulence and political uncertainty restraining client and candidate confidence”. Fees were down 18 per cent in June and new job flow was weaker than expected.
The outlook for the full year remains uncertain, with management saying there is a “wider range of potential outcomes” than usual. Recruitment firms Hays (HAS) and PageGroup (PAGE) expect their own profits to roughly halve year-on-year. JS
Read more: PageGroup plummets amid jobs market pressures
Cohort lands another order
Defence contractor Cohort (CHRT) said its communications and intelligence division, EID, has signed a three-year contract with the Portuguese army worth €33mn (£27.7mn).
Cohort’s order intake has swelled in recent months and it finished the year to April with an order book of £518mn, up from £387mn a year earlier. Shore Capital analysts said they expect “a strong set of results” from Cohort when it reports on Wednesday.
The company’s shares trade at around 23-times earnings, although Shore Capital’s analysts expect the price-to-earnings ratio to fall to 20-times based on enhanced profits in 2025. MF
Read more: The European defence stocks benefitting from higher spending
SolGold sells off future revenue for funding fix
Copper and gold hopeful SolGold (SOLG) has sold even more of its future output, this time in a mammoth $750mn (£578mn) deal with royalty and streaming giants Franco-Nevada (US:FNV) and Osisko (CN:OR). The arrangement will hand the two funders 20 per cent of gold output from Cascabel, until 750,000 ounces (oz) of gold are delivered. The stream will then drop to 12 per cent for the entire life of the mine, potentially handing Franco-Nevada and Osisko billions of dollars. The first portion of the stream is worth $1.8bn at current prices.
SolGold will first receive $100mn to continue to develop the project, with the $650mn to come if it reaches a positive final investment decision. Franco-Nevada gave the company an emergency loan last month as the deal was finalised, the same as 2020 when it provided a loan before handing over $100mn for a 1 per cent royalty on the mine’s gold output.
SolGold has hit several funding crises in recent years as it works on Cascabel, which will cost around $1.6bn to build according to the most recent estimate. A plan to sell to the company foundered because of the complicated ownership: BHP (BHP) and Newmont (US:NEM) each hold stakes of just over 10 per cent, while Jiangxi Copper holds 6 per cent. SolGold’s shares climbed 18 per cent on the news, to 10.3p. AH
