Director dealings: Hays chair buys profit warning dip, RC Fornax CFO invests

(Sharecast News) - Among the London-listed companies disclosing director share purchases on Friday was Hays, whose chair made a show of confidence following a sharp share price decline. Michael Findlay, non-executive chair of the FTSE 250 recruitment firm, bought 34,382 shares at a price of 57.88p each on 19 June.

The purchase came on the same day Hays issued a profit warning that sent its shares tumbling.

Hays cited a broad-based slowdown in permanent hiring and lowered its full-year profit forecast to around £45m, significantly below analyst expectations.

The trading update flagged declines in key markets including the UK, Germany and Australia, with weak client and candidate confidence weighing on activity.

Elsewhere, Rob Shepherd - chief financial officer of RC Fornax - acquired 93,000 shares in the AIM-quoted defence engineering firm across two tranches.

On 18 June, Shepherd purchased 68,000 shares at 27.5p each, followed by a further 25,000 shares at 25p on 19 June, for an average price of 26.8p.

The transaction increased his stake to approximately 0.16% of the company's total voting rights.

By 1321 BST, shares in Hays were up 2.13% at 64.65p, while those in RC Fornax were ahead 8.74% at 28p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.