Annual Financial Report

RNS Number : 1146K

Robert Walters PLC

13 April 2010

 



ROBERT WALTERS PLC (THE "COMPANY")

Annual Financial Report

Copies of the Annual Report & Accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2009, the Circular to shareholders of the Company, including Notice of the Annual General Meeting of the Company to be held on Friday, 21 May 2010, and the form of proxy for use at the Annual General Meeting (all of which documents were posted to shareholders on 12 April 2010), have been submitted to the UK Listing Authority and will shortly be available for inspection at the UK Listing Authority's Document Viewing Facility located at:

Financial Services Authority

25 The North Colonnade

Canary Wharf

London E14 5HS

Tel: [phone]

The Annual Report & Accounts 2009 is now available on the Company's website at http://www.robertwalters.com/annualreport2009

In accordance with Disclosure and Transparency Rule 6.3.5, the information in the attached Appendix consisting of a Directors' Responsibility Statement, principal risks and uncertainties and related party transactions has been extracted unedited from the Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2009 and should be read in conjunction with the Company's final results for the year ended 31 December 2009 which were announced in unedited full text on Thursday, 4 March 2010.

Enquiries:

Alan Bannatyne, Group Finance Director & Company Secretary [phone]

APPENDIX

Directors' Responsibility Statement

We confirm that to the best of our knowledge:

·      the financial statements, prepared in accordance with the relevant financial reporting framework, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and

·      the Operating and Financial Review includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties that they face.

By order of the Board

Alan Bannatyne

Group Finance Director

3 March 2010

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Board considers the full range of business risks affecting the Group on a regular basis, and takes action to address such risks. The perceived key risks are as follows:

(i) Employment market

Job availability and the level of candidate confidence in the employment market are important factors in determining the total number of recruitment transactions in a given year. Candidates are less inclined to move jobs when the number of jobs available is stagnant or in decline and, consequently, the recent global economic downturn has resulted in a negative impact on the Group's financial performance.

The Board's strategy when facing a slowdown in a particular market is to balance the cost base, such that the impact on profit is mitigated, against the perceived future benefit from the retention of key staff. Historically, the Group has benefited substantially from increased operational gearing as a result of its policy of deliberately retaining key staff through economic downturns.

(ii) Temporary labour law

The Group places a significant number of candidates on temporary worker self-employed contracts. Any future legislation which has the effect of increasing the cost or restricting the flexibility of movement of temporary workers could have a detrimental effect on the Group's financial performance.

(iii) Staff retention

The Group's profitability in discrete operating units continues to have a high correlation to the retention of efficient and effective members of staff.

The long-term incentive schemes that are detailed in note 18 to the accounts remain a key part of a wider strategy to improve levels of staff retention, particularly of the Group's senior employees.

Other elements of the strategy to improve staff retention and maximise career opportunities include significant investment of time and financial resources in employee training and development, aimed at core consultant competencies and focused on enhancing management potential.

The Group also offers exciting international career opportunities and actively encourages the redeployment of existing talent to grow new businesses and establish new offices.

Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the year to 31 December 2009 (2008: £nil) except as disclosed in the Report of the Remuneration Committee.

 

END

 

 

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