Randstad soars 20% as key labour markets improve, driving revenue and earnings

By Jakob Van Calster

Oct 21 (Reuters) - Randstad management struck a cheerful tone for 2027 on Wednesday after improvements in key labour markets drove quarterly sales and profit beats, setting its shares on track for their best trading day in 24 years.

Finance chief Jorge Vazquez said the Dutch recruiter was "clearly" entering the new year in a different position from the one in which it started the current year.

"We are already busy making sure that we enter Q1 in as healthy a way as possible to continue to make big steps towards a big step up in profitability," Vazquez told analysts in a call.

Recruitment firms such as Randstad or Adecco are seen as a gauge of labour-market health and economic momentum because employers adjust hiring plans as the broader economy ebbs and flows.

"If you look at the macro indicators, whether it's PMI or GDP growth, they're pointing in the right direction," Randstad CEO Sander van 't Noordende said in an interview with Reuters. Staffing demand tends to closely track the employment components of purchasing managers' indices assessing the business environment.

Randstad shares soared 20% in Amsterdam by 0915 GMT. Adecco gained more than 9% in Zurich.

KEY MARKETS RECOVER, FRANCE LAGS

Randstad's organic revenue grew 3.9% in the third quarter, beating analysts' average forecast of 2.9%. Underlying core earnings of €211 million ($237 million) also exceeded the €200 million market view.

Revenue in Germany grew 5%, continuing the recovery seen in the second quarter when sales in Europe's biggest economy returned to growth for the first time since early 2023.

In North America, revenue rose 9%, carried by 19% growth in US operational staffing, which broadly covers blue-collar roles.

Its Dutch home market also returned to growth, while France remained one of the few weak spots with a 3% decline.

However, van 't Noordende said he expected the French market to perform well in the fourth quarter, despite recent unrest across the country that has rattled the economy.

($1 = 0.8914 euros)

(Reporting by Jakob Van Calster in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)