Robert Half Inc. (NYSE:RHI) Q4 2023 Results Conference Call January 30, 2024 5:00 PM ET

Company Participants

Keith Waddell - President and Chief Executive Officer

Michael Buckley - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Mark Macon - Baird

Andrew Steinerman - JPMorgan

Heather Balsky - Bank of America

Trevor Romeo - William Blair

Stephanie Moore - Jefferies

George Tong - Goldman Sachs

Manav Patnaik - Barclays

Kevin McVeigh - UBS

Kartik Mehta - Northcoast Research

Operator

Hello, and welcome to the Robert Half Fourth Quarter 2023 Conference Call. Today's conference call is being recorded [Operator Instructions]. Our hosts for today's call are Mr. Keith Waddell, President and Chief Executive Officer of Robert Half; and Mr. Michael Buckley, Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Waddell, you may begin.

Keith Waddell

Hello, everyone. We appreciate your time today. Before we get started, I'd like to remind you that the comments made on today's call contain forward-looking statements, including predictions and estimates about our future performance. These statements represent our current judgment of what the future holds. However, they're subject to the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in today's press release and in our most recent 10-K and 10-Q filed with the SEC. We assume no obligation to update the statements made on today's call. During this presentation, we may mention some non-GAAP financial measures and reference to these figures as adjusted. Reconciliations and further explanations of these measures are included in a supplemental schedule to our earnings press release. For your convenience, our prepared remarks for today's call are available in the Investor Center of our Web site, roberthalf.com.

We delivered above consensus top and bottom line results for the fourth quarter with Protiviti leading the way. Global labor demand continues to be resilient and talent shortages persist, although, both are modestly below their peaks, ongoing economic uncertainty continues to impact client and candidate confidence, as well as hiring activity and in project starts. Nevertheless, we're encouraged that our improving weekly revenue trends that again in the third quarter and continued into the fourth quarter are approaching a positive inflection point. We entered 2024 confident in our ability to navigate the current climate and optimistic about our growth prospects built on our industry leading brand, people, technology and unique business model that includes both professional staffing and business consulting services. For the fourth quarter of 2023, company wide revenues were $1.473 billion, down 15% from last year's fourth quarter on both a reported and as adjusted basis. Net income per share in the fourth quarter was $0.83 compared to $1.37 in the fourth quarter one year ago. Cash flow from operations during the quarter was $115 million. In December, we distributed a $0.48 per share cash dividend to our shareholders of record for a total cash outlay of $51 million. Our per share dividend has grown 11.2% annually since its inception in 2004. The December 2023 dividend was 11.6% higher than the prior year. We also acquired approximately 685,000 Robert Half shares during the quarter for $56 million. We have 10.8 million shares available for repurchase under our Board approved stock repurchase plan. Return on invested capital for the company was 22% in the fourth quarter. Now, I'll turn the call to our CFO, Mike Buckley.