By Rob Curran


ManpowerGroup swung to a fourth-quarter loss amid falling revenue and goodwill-impairment charges, and forecast muted growth ahead, as demand for its services in the U.S. remained tepid.

The Milwaukee temporary and long-term staffing agency said it swung to a fourth-quarter loss of $84.5 million, or $1.73 a share, from a profit of $48.7 million, or 95 cents a share, a year earlier.

Excluding the impact of goodwill and other impairment charges and Argentinian currency losses, Manpower posted earnings of $1.45 a share, topping the average estimate of $1.19 a share.

Fourth-quarter revenue fell 3.7% to $4.63 billion, compared with the mean Wall Street target of $4.57 billion.

U.S. revenue fell 14% to $702.3 million. Job openings in the U.S. remain high on a historical basis, alleviating the need for job seekers to work with temp agencies.

The firm said North American and European markets remained challenging, while demand was stronger in Latin America and in Asia, the Pacific region and the Middle East.

Manpower forecast adjusted first-quarter earnings in a range between 88 cents and 98 cents a share. That excludes restructuring costs, charges related to winding down its Proservia unit and Argentinian currency-translation effects. In the first quarter of 2023, Manpower posted earnings of $1.51 a share.


Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@wsj.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

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