PageGroup Q2 Gross Profit Up; Says FY Operating Profit Inline With Consensus

(RTTNews) - Recruitment company PageGroup plc (MPGPF.PK, MPI.L) reported Tuesday that its second -quarter group gross profit increased 16 percent on a reported basis and 7.7% in constant currencies to 182 million pounds.

The weakening of Sterling benefited Group gross profit by about 13 million pounds in the second quarter. In constant currencies, Michael Page grew 5.3%.

The company said its second-quarter results were impacted by the timing of Easter.

The company noted that France delivered an excellent quarter, with growth of 23%. The UK was down 4.5%, with Easter falling in Q2 and client and candidate confidence levels continuing to be impacted by Brexit and political uncertainty.

Excluding Singapore where market conditions remained challenging, South East Asia, delivered growth of 35%. US recorded a strong improvement, up 17%. Latin America, excluding Brazil, delivered growth of 18%. Germany achieved a record quarter, up 13%.

Steve Ingham, Chief Executive Officer said, " The Group continued to benefit from positive foreign exchange movements, which in the quarter added c. £13m to our gross profit, increasing reported gross profit by 8.3 percentage points to 16.0%....Performance levels have improved since the start of the year, which has been reflected in Consensus moving up c. 13% since March 2017. Our outlook for full year operating profit is in line with current Consensus."

The company compiled Consensus operating profit of 111.5 million pounds.

Looking ahead, the company said it will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, while being able to respond quickly to any changes in market conditions.