Korn Ferry Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year FY'25 Results of Operations

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY), a global consulting firm, today announced fourth quarter and annual fee revenue of $712.0 million and $2,730.1 million, respectively. In addition, fourth quarter diluted earnings per share was $1.21 and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $1.32, while full year diluted earnings per share was $4.60 and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $4.88. “Even amid the ever-changing global economic and political dynamics, we continue to deliver on our financial and strategic objectives, just as we have over the past several years. Our results reinforce the premise of Korn Ferry’s diversification strategy and our continued momentum,” said Gary D. Burnison, CEO, Korn Ferry. “Through ongoing investments to extend our offerings and solutions and expand our impact, we are powering performance for clients. This foundational focus for the future underpins our conviction to a strategy that will continue to propel us forward.” Fiscal 2025 Fourth Quarter Results The Company reported fee revenue in Q4 FY'25 of $712.0 million, an increase of 3% year-over-year (up 4.0% at constant currency). During the quarter, the increase in fee revenue was due to higher fee revenue in Executive Search and Recruitment process outsourcing ("RPO"), partially offset by a decline in fee revenue in Consulting. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry was $64.2 million with a margin of 9.0% in Q4 FY'25, compared to net income attributable to Korn Ferry of $65.2 million with a margin of 9.4%, in Q4 FY'24, a decrease of 40bps compared to the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA was $121.1 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $112.3 million in Q4 FY'24. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.0% in Q4 FY'25, an increase of 70bps compared to the year-ago quarter. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry and net income attributable to Korn Ferry margin decreased slightly from the prior year, primarily due to certain income tax benefits recorded in Q4 FY'24 which reduced the prior year quarterly effective tax rate by approximately 4 percentage points. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin increased due to an increase in fee revenue and disciplined cost management. Fiscal 2025 Full Year Results The Company reported fee revenue in FY'25 of $2,730.1 million, a decrease of 1% in both actual and constant currency compared to FY'24. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry was $246.1 million with a margin of 9.0% in FY'25, compared to net income attributable to Korn Ferry of $169.2 million with a margin of 6.1%, in FY'24, an increase of 290bps. Adjusted EBITDA was $463.9 million in FY'25 compared to $408.2 million in FY'24. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 17.0% in FY'25, an increase of 220bps compared to the year-ago period. Net income attributable to Korn Ferry and net income attributable to Korn Ferry margin increased as a result of disciplined cost management, strong consultant productivity and a decrease in restructuring charges, net, partially offset by a higher effective tax rate in FY'25 as a result of the favorable impact of the valuation allowance release mentioned in footnote (c) above on FY'24's effective tax rate. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin increased due to disciplined cost management and strong consultant productivity. Fee revenue was $169.4 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $182.2 million in Q4 FY'24, a decrease of $12.8 million or 7% in both actual and constant currency. The year-over-year decrease in Consulting fee revenue was primarily due to a greater mix of larger engagements which convert to fee revenue over a longer duration and ongoing slower delivery of backlog engagements driven by clients. Adjusted EBITDA was $29.1 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $32.3 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter decreased year-over-year by 60bps to 17.2%. This decrease resulted primarily from lower fee revenue discussed above. Fee revenue was $91.6 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $91.3 million in Q4 FY'24, essentially flat year-over-year (up 1% at constant currency). Adjusted EBITDA was $28.5 million in Q4 FY'25, relatively flat compared to $28.0 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin in the quarter increased slightly year-over-year by 40bps to 31.1%. Fee revenue was $227.0 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $198.7 million Q4 FY'24, an increase of $28.3 million or 14% (up 15% at constant currency). The year-over-year increase in fee revenue was primarily driven by an increase in the number of engagements billed and an increase in weighted-average fee billed per engagement. The Company experienced fee revenue growth in North America, EMEA and APAC regions. Adjusted EBITDA was $54.2 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $45.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased by 100bps to 23.9% in Q4 FY'25. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin was due to higher fee revenue and increased consultant productivity. Fee revenue was $130.7 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $129.2 million Q4 FY'24, an increase of $1.5 million or 1% (up 2% at a constant currency). Fee revenue increased due to higher fee revenue from Interim as a result of the acquisition of Trilogy, effective November 1, 2024, partially offset by a decrease in fee revenue in Permanent Placement due to an industry wide slowdown in demand. Adjusted EBITDA was $27.4 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $28.1 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 21.0%, down year-over-year by 80bps. Fee revenue was $93.3 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $89.5 million in Q4 FY'24, an increase of $3.8 million or 4% (up 5% at constant currency). RPO fee revenue increased due to recent new client wins being stood up and an increase in demand from our base clients in the North America and Asia Pacific regions. Adjusted EBITDA was $14.5 million in Q4 FY'25 compared to $11.8 million in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 230bps to 15.5% in Q4 FY'25. The increase in Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin both resulted from an increase in fee revenue and disciplined cost management. Outlook Assuming worldwide geopolitical conditions, economic conditions, financial markets and foreign exchange rates remain steady, on a consolidated basis: Q1 FY’26 fee revenue is expected to be in the range of $675 million and $695 million; and Q1 FY’26 diluted earnings per share is expected to range between $1.16 to $1.24. On a consolidated adjusted basis: Q1 FY’26 adjusted diluted earnings per share is expected to be in the range from $1.18 to $1.26. Earnings Conference Call Webcast The earnings conference call will be held today at 12:00 PM (EDT) and hosted by CEO Gary Burnison, CFO Robert Rozek, SVP Business Development & Analytics Gregg Kvochak and VP Investor Relations Tiffany Louder. The conference call will be webcast and available online at ir.kornferry.com. We will also post to the investor relations section of our website earnings slides, which will accompany our webcast, and other important information, and encourage you to review the information that we make available on our website. About Korn Ferry Korn Ferry is a global consulting firm that powers performance. We unlock the potential in your people and unleash transformation across your business—synchronizing strategy, operations, and talent to accelerate performance, fuel growth, and inspire a legacy of change. That’s why the world’s most forward-thinking companies across every major industry turn to us—for a shared commitment to lasting impact and the bold ambition to Be More Than. Forward-Looking Statements Statements in this press release and our conference call that relate to our outlook, projections, goals, strategies, future plans and expectations, including statements relating to expected labor market conditions, expected demand for and relevance of our products and services, expected results of our business diversification strategy, expected benefits of the acquisition of Trilogy, impact of global events on our business, and other statements of future events or conditions are forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Words such as “believes”, “expects”, “anticipates”, “goals”, “estimates”, “guidance”, “may”, “should”, “could”, “will” or “likely”, and variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. Such statements are based on current expectations; actual results in future periods may differ materially from those currently expected or desired because of a number of risks and uncertainties that are beyond the control of Korn Ferry. The potential risks and uncertainties include those relating to global and local political and or economic developments in or affecting countries where we have operations, such as inflation, trade wars, interest rates, labor market conditions, global slowdowns, or recessions, competition, geopolitical tensions, shifts in global trade patterns, changes in demand for our services as a result of automation, dependence on and costs of attracting and retaining qualified and experienced consultants, impact of inflationary pressures on our profitability, our ability to maintain relationships with customers and suppliers and retaining key employees, maintaining our brand name and professional reputation, potential legal liability and regulatory developments, portability of client relationships, consolidation of or within the industries we serve, changes and developments in government laws and regulations, evolving investor and customer expectations with regard to corporate responsibility matters, currency fluctuations in our international operations, risks related to growth, alignment of our cost structure, including as a result of recent workforce, real estate, and other restructuring initiatives, restrictions imposed by off-limits agreements, reliance on information processing systems, cyber security vulnerabilities or events, changes to data security, data privacy, and data protection laws, dependence on third parties for the execution of critical functions, limited protection of our intellectual property ("IP"), our ability to enhance, develop and respond to new technology, including artificial intelligence, our ability to successfully recover from a disaster or other business continuity problems, employment liability risk, an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill and other intangible assets, treaties, or regulations on our business and our Company, deferred tax assets that we may not be able to use, our ability to develop new products and services, changes in our accounting estimates and assumptions, the utilization and billing rates of our consultants, seasonality, the expansion of social media platforms, the ability to effect acquisitions and integrate acquired businesses, resulting organizational changes, our indebtedness, and those relating to the ultimate magnitude and duration of any pandemic or outbreaks. For a detailed description of risks and uncertainties that could cause differences from our expectations, please refer to Korn Ferry’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Korn Ferry disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures This press release contains financial information calculated other than in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”). In particular, it includes: Adjusted net income attributable to Korn Ferry, adjusted to exclude integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets, impairment of right-of-use assets, management separation charges and restructuring charges, net of income tax effect, and to exclude a $9.7 million non-recurring tax benefit in fiscal 2024 from actions taken in connection with the worldwide minimum tax that resulted in the release of a valuation allowance; Adjusted basic and diluted earnings per share, adjusted to exclude integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets, impairment of right-of-use assets, management separation charges and restructuring charges, net of income tax effect, and to exclude a $9.7 million non-recurring tax benefit in fiscal 2024 from actions taken in connection with the worldwide minimum tax that resulted in the release of a valuation allowance; Constant currency (calculated using a quarterly average) percentages that represent the percentage change that would have resulted had exchange rates in the prior period been the same as those in effect in the current period; and Consolidated and Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA, which is earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, further adjusted to exclude integration/acquisition costs, impairment of fixed assets, impairment of right-of-use assets, management separation charges and restructuring charges, net when applicable, and Consolidated and Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA margin. This non-GAAP disclosure has limitations as an analytical tool, should not be viewed as a substitute for financial information determined in accordance with GAAP, and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of the Company’s results as reported under GAAP, nor is it necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Management believes the presentation of non-GAAP financial measures in this press release provides meaningful supplemental information regarding Korn Ferry’s performance by excluding certain charges that may not be indicative of Korn Ferry’s ongoing operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are performance measures and are not indicative of the liquidity of Korn Ferry. These charges, which are described in the footnotes in the attached reconciliations, represent 1) costs we incurred to acquire and integrate a portion of our Professional Search & Interim business, 2) impairment of fixed assets primarily due to software impairment charge in our Digital segment, 3) impairment of right-of-use assets due to the decision to terminate and sublease some of our offices, 4) restructuring charges, net to align workforce to challenging macroeconomic business environment, 5) separation charges due to contractual obligations due upon executive's death and 6) to exclude a $9.7 million non-recurring tax benefit in fiscal 2024 from actions taken in connection with the worldwide minimum tax that resulted in the release of a valuation allowance. The use of non-GAAP financial measures facilitates comparisons to Korn Ferry’s historical performance. Korn Ferry includes non-GAAP financial measures because management believes they are useful to investors in allowing for greater transparency with respect to supplemental information used by management in its evaluation of Korn Ferry’s ongoing operations and financial and operational decision-making. Adjusted net income attributable to Korn Ferry, adjusted basic and diluted earnings per share and Consolidated and Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA, exclude certain charges that management does not consider on-going in nature and allows management and investors to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s operating results. Management further believes that Consolidated and Executive Search Adjusted EBITDA is useful to investors because it is frequently used by investors and other interested parties to measure operating performance among companies with different capital structures, effective tax rates and tax attributes and capitalized asset values, all of which can vary substantially from company to company. In the case of constant currency percentages, management believes the presentation of such information provides useful supplemental information regarding Korn Ferry's performance as excluding the impact of exchange rate changes on Korn Ferry's financial performance allows investors to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company’s operating results, to better identify operating trends that may otherwise be masked or distorted by exchange rate changes and to perform related trend analysis, and provides a higher degree of transparency of information used by management in its evaluation of Korn Ferry's ongoing operations and financial and operational decision-making.

Korn Ferry Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year FY'25 Results of Operations

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