12th Jul 2016 06:25
LONDON (Alliance News) - Recruitment firm PageGroup PLC on Tuesday said gross profit growth in the second quarter was in line with the first and said it is too early to predict what impact the UK's vote to leave the European Union will have on the recruiting sector.
The FTSE 250-listed company, which changed its name from Michael Page International PLC in June, said total gross profit growth in the second quarter to the end of June was 8.0% year-on-year. It was 3.7% in constant currencies, broadly in line with the constant currency growth seen in the first quarter.
For the half to the end of June, PageGroup's gross profit grew by 6.5% and by 3.6% in constant currencies.
Europe, Middle East and Africa division gross profit grew 23% in the period, with very strong performances in the Benelux and Southern Europe regions.
Gross profit in the UK, however, declined 2.3%, hit by the uncertainty prior to the UK's Brexit referendum, while Americas gross profit fell 1.5%, amid a weak financial services recruitment market in North America and a plunge in gross profit in recession-gripped Brazil.
Asia Pacific gross profit edged up 1.3%, with a better performance in Australasia offset by weakness in the rest of Asia.
Steve Ingham, PageGroup's chief executive, said the strong performances in Europe and Latin America, excluding Brazil, were offset somewhat by the continued challenges faced in China, the UK and Brazil.
"It is too early to say how the result of the EU Referendum will impact our results going forward, but the environment leading up to the vote caused a slightly weaker result in June," he said.
"With continued uncertainty in the UK following the referendum result, ongoing challenges in some of our other larger markets, the unpredictable nature of the current cycle and our limited visibility, we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, whilst remaining able to respond quickly to any changes in market conditions," Ingham added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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