UPDATE 1- PageGroup, Robert Walters post lower income as lockdowns hit hiring

(Adds Robert Walters results and background)

July 9 (Reuters) - British recruiters PageGroup and Robert Walters reported a slump in second-quarter net fee income on Thursday as companies put hiring on ice during coronavirus-led lockdowns.

The recruitment firms, which have already scrapped dividends and cut costs, also reduced the number of consultants they employ in response to the downturn in hiring activity.

PageGroup laid off another 326 employees in May and June, while Robert Walters said the number of consultants it employs at quarter-end dropped 5% from March end.

Most global recruiters have been battening down the hatches for months in expectation of a collapse in revenue due to the coronavirus crisis, as analysts and industry players have said steeper staffing cuts looked unavoidable.

"Given the fluid and volatile nature of the global pandemic including the inherent risk of infection spikes and localised lockdowns, our forward visibility remains limited," said Chief Executive Officer Robert Walters, who founded his eponymous company in 1985.

With UK operations falling as much 61.5%, PageGroup's gross profit for three months ended June 30 came in at 118.3 million pounds ($149.53 million), compared with 224.7 million pounds a year earlier.

Robert Walters' gross profit slumped by a third to 71.1 million pounds.

($1 = 0.7911 pounds) (Reporting by Indranil Sarkar and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Anil D'Silva)