Page Group profits jump despite Brexit uncertainty

Recruitment firm Page Group has reported higher revenue and profit for the first half, despite Brexit uncertainty holding both employers and candidates back from making big decisions.

Revenue was up 9.5% to £820.5 million in the six months to the end of June.

Pre-tax profits jumped 10.9% to £74.6 million.

Shares in the company were up 2.8% in early trading on Wednesday as it also announced a special dividend of 12.73p per share on top of an interim payment of 4.3p per share.

The stronger performance came despite political headwinds in the UK, which made up 16% of the group’s gross profit.

Gross profit was down 0.3% to £69.4 million, as Brexit affected decision-making among both clients and candidates at the more senior end of the market.

But strong performance in other markets, especially the US, helped to offset the UK.

Gross profit for the Americas region was up 20.7%, powered by 23% growth in the US.

Chief executive Kelvin Stagg said: “We are pleased with our first-half performance; however, we remain mindful of challenging macro-economic conditions seen in a number of our regions.

“We will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, while continuing our strategic investments towards our vision of 10,000 headcount, £1 billion of gross profit and £200 million to £250 million of operating profit.”