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View All NewsPageGroup gross profit rises 8% in constant currency, political plus economic issues ahead
UK-based staffing firm PageGroup plc reported gross profit rose 7.7% in constant currency in the second quarter. While the company considers the growth strong, it pointed to several uncertainties on the horizon this year. These include impact of Brexit negotiations and political uncertainty in the UK, elections in Germany and ongoing macroeconomic challenges in Brazil.
Second-quarter gross profit was also impacted by the UK Easter holiday being in the second quarter this year — it was in the first quarter last year.
| (£ millions) | Q2 2017 | Q2 2016 | % change | Constant currency % | Q2 2017 (US$millions) |
| Gross profit | £182.0 | £156.9 | 16.0% | 7.7% | $236.0 |
Gross profit fell by 4.5% in the UK during the second quarter, but gross profit in other parts of Europe, the Middle East and Africa rose by 13.2% in constant currency. Gross profit rose in other regions as well.
Looking only at North America, second-quarter gross profit rose 15%. The company noted that a challenging financial services market in New York, which now comprises 26% of the its US business, offset good growth elsewhere. PageGroup reported strong growth in Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and in the technical disciplines.
Gross profit by geography
| (£ millions) | Q2 2017 | Q2 2016 | % change | Constant currency % | Q2 2017 (US$millions) |
| Europe, Middle East and Africa | £83.7 | £67.6 | 24.0% | 13.2% | $108.5 |
| United Kingdom | £36.6 | £38.3 | -4.5% | -4.5% | $47.5 |
| Asia Pacific | £35.8 | £30.6 | 17.1% | 6.8% | $46.4 |
| Americas | £25.9 | £20.4 | 26.5% | 13.8% | $33.6 |
Share price and market cap
Shares in PageGroup plc closed down 2.33% at £477.80, according to Google. The company had a market cap of £1.56 billion.