Hays, Alumasc and 600 Group

“Equities confounded forecasts and opened on the front foot despite overnight falls on Wall Street and ahead of a raft of UK, EU and US manufacturing data due throughout the course of the day,” says AJ Bell Investment Director Russ Mould.

“Recruitment group Hays had an excellent year with earnings and cash ahead of market expectations. But the run-up to the EU referendum had an impact on its figures with net fees in the UK flat as increased concern over the economic outlook hit client and candidate confidence, especially in the second half. Hays has seen no evidence of any impact elsewhere although it concedes it is too early to gauge the longer term effect of the Brexit vote.

“Building products group Alumasc has achieved its fifth successive year of profit growth and its outlook is bullish with order books at record levels following another double-digit increase. Alumasc sees significant growth opportunities because of strategic positioning of its businesses in expanding market niches and international potential.

“600 Group’s shares slumped in early trading after full-year profits fell. The engineering group has continued to implement structural changes in both its operating divisions to give it a greater opportunity to grow in existing and new markets from a reduced cost base. Market conditions in the machine tools sector, though, were challenging throughout the year and despite action to reduce costs and expand markets, the performance in the UK and Europe was weaker than expected. 600 Group’s shares were down by more than 10.5% in early trading.”

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