City-based headhunter Hays (HAS) has had a rough time over the last 12 months, posting four consecutive quarters of negative growth in fee income.

Worse still, the rate of decline actually accelerated over that period to stand at minus 17% at the end of June.

Therefore, investors and analysts will be looking for less-bad news when the company updates the market on its first-quarter performance (July to September) on 15 October.

While the UK represents just a small proportion of the firm’s business, there will naturally be a focus on what the firm says about current hiring trends in both the permanent and temporary markets.

According to official figures, job vacancies shrank 14% year-on-year in August to 857,000 while the number of applicants for each role is rising meaning companies can afford to be more choosy.

With few levers to pull to control costs, the firm inevitably ends up laying off staff it has spent time and money training up – in the year to June it cut its headcount by 7,300 people – so if there are signs of stabilisation in its own staffing levels it could be a sign Hays sees the market improving.

The other thing analysts will be looking for is some kind of financial guidance for the year to next June, as so far chief executive Dirk Hahn has declined to give any hints as to whether their forecasts are anywhere near the mark.

As of last week, the company-compiled consensus was for net fee income of just over £1 billion, operating profit of £98 million and earnings per share of 3.9p.

UK UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

FIRST-HALF RESULTS

14 Oct: 1Spatial

15 Oct: Bytes Technology 

16 Oct: Sanderson Design, Vertu Motors Whitbread

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

14 Oct: Ensilica, Kromek

15 Oct: Bellway, Seraphim Space Investment Trust, Yougov

16 Oct: ASOS

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

11 Oct: Hays 

14 Oct: Alphawave, Ashmore, Atalya Mining

15 Oct: Reach, Rio Tinto, Victorian Plumbing

16 Oct: Antofagasta

17 Oct: Centamin, Dunelm, Mondi, Rentokil, St Jame's Place

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