6th Mar 2019 09:01
LONDON (Alliance News) - PageGroup PLC on Wednesday said its 2018 performance was a "record year" as it reported a 20% rise in profit.
PageGroup shares were trading up 1.5% at 455.60 pence each early Wednesday morning.
For 2018, the FTSE 250 recruitment company posted pretax profit of GBP142.3 million, up from GBP118.2 million in 2017.
Revenue increased 13% year-on-year to GBP1.55 billion from GBP1.37 billion.
"2018 was a record year for the group and we delivered our best ever gross profit performance in each of our five large, high potential markets," Chief Executive Officer Steve Ingham said.
"Gross profit increased 15.9%, operating profit was up 20.7%, and importantly, our conversion rate increased to 17.5%. This result was due to a combination of improved business performance and increased operational efficiencies, balanced by the level of investment, which has produced positive operational gearing."
PageGroup proposed a final dividend per share of 9.00 pence, up 4.7% on 2017. Combined with the interim dividend of 4.10p and the special dividend of 12.73p, this represents a total payout of 25.83p per share, up from 25.23p a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company said that despite the existing macro-economic uncertainties it will continue to focus on delivering "profitable growth".
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