Korn Ferry Reports 7% Increase in Fee Revenue

By Tamara Parker • Tuesday, June 23 13:06 • Permanent Link

Korn Ferry reported fourth-quarter fee revenue of $759.8 million, up 7% from $712.0 million a year earlier, and full-year fee revenue of $2.91 billion, up 7% from $2.73 billion.

Net income attributable to the company rose to $73.1 million in the fourth quarter from $64.2 million, while the margin improved to 9.6% from 9.0%. For the full year, net income increased to $277.4 million from $246.1 million, with margin expanding to 9.5% from 9.0%.

Adjusted EBITDA in the quarter was $129.5 million, up from $121.1 million, while the margin held at 17.0%. For the full year, adjusted EBITDA increased to $497.8 million from $463.9 million, with margin edging up to 17.1% from 17.0%.

The company’s remaining fees under existing contracts reached $1.88 billion at quarter-end, up 10% from $1.71 billion a year earlier.

By business line, executive search posted fourth-quarter fee revenue of $242.0 million, up 7% from $227.0 million, with adjusted EBITDA rising to $64.0 million from $54.2 million and margin expanding to 26.4% from 23.9%. Professional search & interim generated $149.1 million, up 14% from $130.7 million, with adjusted EBITDA climbing to $33.9 million from $27.4 million and margin rising to 22.7% from 21.0%.

Consulting fee revenue increased to $181.9 million from $169.4 million, while adjusted EBITDA rose to $30.9 million from $29.1 million. Digital fee revenue fell to $89.3 million from $91.6 million, and adjusted EBITDA slipped to $27.7 million from $28.5 million. RPO fee revenue increased to $97.6 million from $93.3 million, with adjusted EBITDA up to $15.5 million from $14.5 million.

Korn Ferry repurchased 1.24 million shares for $78.8 million during the quarter and paid $28.3 million in dividends. Today the company's shares have moved 3.3% to a price of $70.005. If you want to know more, read the company's complete 8-K report here.

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