13th Jan 2025 09:00
(Alliance News) - PageGroup PLC on Monday revealed it has reduced its team of headhunters, due to market uncertainty in the European job market and amid a dive in gross profit.
PageGroup shares were down 4.8% to 296.40 pence each on Monday morning in London. The wider FTSE 250 index was down just 0.2%.
The Weybridge, Surrey-based employment recruitment firm said it reduced its fee earner headcount by 130, or 2.4%, standing at 5,370 in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to 5,500 in the third quarter.
"We continue to review our fee earner headcount, making progress on our strategy by reallocating resources into the areas of the business where we see the most significant long-term structural opportunities, as well as ensuring it remains aligned to activity levels we are seeing in each of our markets," Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Kirk said.
"We drove further efficiencies in the organisation through the closure of our Shared Service Centres in the UK and Singapore, with transition of activities into Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur."
PageGroup reported fourth-quarter gross profit of GBP196.7 million, down 17% from GBP237.5 million a year prior.
For all of 2024, gross profit fell 16% to GBP842.5 million from GBP1.01 billion in 2023. PageGroup noted continued subdued levels of client and candidate confidence.
It said it expects full-year operating profit in the lower end of its consensus range, of between GBP49 million and GBP58.5 million, adding that a high degree of uncertainty remains across most of its markets.
This includes one-off costs totalling around GBP5 million relating to the closure of its shared service centres in the UK and Singapore.
Expected operating profit for 2024 will be at least 51% lower than GBP118.8 million it had reported for 2023.
"Market conditions remained challenging in Q4 and whilst most markets were sequentially stable, we experienced a further worsening in Europe, particularly in our two largest markets, France and Germany," CEO Kirk said.
PageGroup will release its full 2024 results on March 6.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News slot editor
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