Gattaca shares plunge by a third as recruiter demand falters
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Engineering and technology recruitment firm Gattaca had its share price plunge more than a third today, after warning investors of its “significantly” lower profits.
The company said it will “breakeven” in terms of its underlying profit before tax for the year to July 31.
Gattaca put the lower-than-expected profits down to faltering demand from its customers, which will also see the company on a “lower growth rate” in the second half of the financial year.
Shares closed 31.6 per cent lower at 95p per share.
Though the company boasted a 46 per cent increase in net fees, from clients that permanently use Gattaca to outsource their recruitment process.
Contractor volumes are also taking longer than anticipated to rebuild to pre-pandemic levels, the recruiter added, but it has invested in its sales headcount to make the most of market recovery.
“We remain committed to driving sustainable recovery from the pandemic and confident in the long-term growth prospects for the business,” Gattaca said in its trading update.
It comes as UK’s unemployment has dropped by 184,000, as the number of Brits on payroll increased to 30m.
The current rate of unemployment is now only 0.1 percentage points higher than before the pandemic.