Heidrick & Struggles posts 1Q loss, shares sink

Heidrick & Struggles posts 1Q loss, shares sink


Associated Press


Executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles International Inc. on Tuesday reported a loss for the first quarter, and announced plans to cut more jobs and reduce bonuses and salaries in an effort to save up to $20 million a year.

Its shares plunged $3.94, or 16.9 percent, to $19.35 in afternoon trading. The stock has ranged from $13.52 to $37.98 over the past year.

For the January-March period, the company reported a net loss of $18.9 million, or $1.15 per share, compared with a profit of $7.1 million, or 38 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Excluding restructuring charges of $13.4 million, the net loss would have been $11.2 million, or 68 cents per share.

Revenue sank 41 percent to $93.7 million from $159.9 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected earnings of 4 cents per share on revenue of $108 million.

The number of executive searches confirmed in the period decreased by 38 percent from the first quarter of last year. The company said each of its practice groups and every region experienced double-digit revenue declines during the quarter.

Heidrick & Struggles cut expenses by 15 percent to $126.1 million in the first quarter, and said more aggressive cost-cutting initiatives are planned for the rest of the year.

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