Kelly Services reported its second-quarter 2024 earnings, showing operating earnings of $12.2 million and adjusted earnings of $28.1 million, a 95% increase from the previous year. Despite a 13.1% decrease in revenue due to the sale of European staffing operations, organic revenue grew by 0.6%. The acquisition of Motion Recruitment Partners, LLC (MRP) is expected to further enhance EBITDA margins. CEO Peter Quigley emphasized the company's focus on growth and efficiency, with ongoing initiatives increasing Kelly’s EBITDA margin to 3.4%. The board declared a $0.075 per share dividend. A financial presentation and conference call are scheduled to review the results.

• Q2 operating earnings of $12.2 million; $28.1 million on an adjusted basis, up 95%


• Q2 revenue down following sale of European staffing operations; up 0.6% on an organic basis


• Q2 adjusted EBITDA margin increased 170 basis points to 3.7% driven by meaningful reduction in operating expenses resulting from business transformation initiatives and sale of European staffing operations


• Company expects further expansion of EBITDA margin from the May 31, 2024 acquisition of Motion Recruitment Partners, LLC ("MRP")

TROY, Mich. , Aug. 08, 2024 -- Kelly (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB), a leading specialty talent solutions provider, today announced results for the second quarter of 2024.

Peter Quigley, president and chief executive officer, announced revenue for the second quarter of 2024 totaled $1.06 billion, a 13.1% decrease compared to the corresponding quarter of 2023 resulting primarily from the sale of the company’s European staffing operations on January 2, 2024. Excluding the impact of the sale of the European staffing operations and the recent acquisition of MRP, revenue improved 0.6% on an organic basis reflecting the continuing impact of customers’ more guarded approach to hiring and initiating new projects or capital spending. MRP revenue is included in reported revenue upon acquisition beginning in June 2024 and added 400 bps to reported year-over-year revenue growth.

Kelly reported operating earnings in the second quarter of 2024 of $12.2 million, compared to earnings of $6.2 million reported in the second quarter of 2023. Adjusted earnings were $28.1 million in the second quarter of 2024. The $15.9 million increase from reported earnings includes a loss on the sale of our European staffing operations, charges related to transformation actions and the sale of our European staffing operations, an impairment charge related to excess leased property and a gain on the sale of assets related to the Ayers Group. The acquisition of MRP added $1.5 million of earnings from operations in the second quarter of 2024. Adjusted earnings in the second quarter of 2023 were $14.2 million. The $8.0 million increase from reported earnings included transformation related charges and an asset impairment charge. The European staffing operations produced $1 million of earnings from operations on an adjusted basis in the second quarter of 2023.

Earnings per share in the second quarter of 2024 were $0.12 compared to earnings per share of $0.20 in the second quarter of 2023. Included in earnings per share in the second quarter of 2024 were a loss on the sale of EMEA staffing operations and a gain on the sale of Ayers Group, net of tax of $0.16, as well as transaction costs related to the acquisition of MRP, restructuring charges associated with our transformation and an asset impairment charge, net of tax, of $0.43. Included in the earnings per share in the second quarter of 2023 are $0.16 per share related to restructuring charges and an asset impairment charge, net of tax. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share were $0.71 in the second quarter of 2024, a significant improvement from $0.36 per share in the corresponding quarter of 2023.

“In the second quarter, employers continued to take a cautious approach to hiring, though customer demand stabilized on a sequential basis across much of our business – a development that is reflected in Kelly’s organic revenue for the quarter,” said Quigley. “As we continued to navigate uncertain market conditions, we remained focused on what we can control. Our ongoing growth and efficiency initiatives increased Kelly’s EBITDA margin in the first half of the year to 3.4% on an organic, adjusted basis – at the midpoint of our initial expectation for EBITDA margin expansion which we established one year ago. This improvement, combined with the scale and capabilities we added through our recent acquisition of MRP, position Kelly to accelerate profitable growth as market conditions improve.”

Kelly also reported that on August 7, its board of directors declared a dividend of $0.075 per share. The dividend is payable on September 4, 2024, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 21, 2024.

In conjunction with its second-quarter earnings release, Kelly has published a financial presentation on the Investor Relations page of its public website and will host a conference call at 9 a.m. ET on August 8 to review the results and answer questions. The call may be accessed in one of the following ways:

A recording of the conference call will be available after 1:30 p.m. ET on August 8, 2024, at (866) 207-1041 (toll-free) and (402) 970-0847 (caller-paid). The access code is 2784290#. The recording will also be available at kellyservices.com during this period.

This release contains statements that are forward looking in nature and, accordingly, are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Kelly’s financial expectations, are forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in this release include, but are not limited to, (i) changing market and economic conditions, (ii) disruption in the labor market and weakened demand for human capital resulting from technological advances, loss of large corporate customers and government contractor requirements, (iii) the impact of laws and regulations (including federal, state and international tax laws), (iv) unexpected changes in claim trends on workers’ compensation, unemployment, disability and medical benefit plans, (v) litigation and other legal liabilities (including tax liabilities) in excess of our estimates, (vi) our ability to achieve our business’s anticipated growth strategies, (vii) our future business development, results of operations and financial condition, (viii) damage to our brands, (ix) dependency on third parties for the execution of critical functions, (x) conducting business in foreign countries, including foreign currency fluctuations, (xi) availability of temporary workers with appropriate skills required by customers, (xii) cyberattacks or other breaches of network or information technology security, and (xiii) other risks, uncertainties and factors discussed in this release and in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “target,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and we undertake no duty to update any forward-looking statement to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.

About Kelly®

Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: KELYA, KELYB) helps companies recruit and manage skilled workers and helps job seekers find great work. Since inventing the staffing industry in 1946, we have become experts in the many industries and local and global markets we serve. With a network of suppliers and partners around the world, we connect more than 500,000 people with work every year. Our suite of outsourcing and consulting services ensures companies have the people they need, when and where they are needed most. Headquartered in Troy, Michigan, we empower businesses and individuals to access limitless opportunities in industries such as science, engineering, technology, education, manufacturing, retail, finance, and energy. Revenue in 2023 was $4.8 billion. Learn more at kellyservices.com.