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View All NewsPageGroup gross profit rises 9% in constant currency
International specialist recruitment firm PageGroup plc reported gross profit rose 9.1% in constant currency to £170.3 million (US$212.1 million) in its the first quarter ended March 31. The growth reflected an improvement in underlying trading plus the timing of Easter being in the second quarter this year rather than in the first quarter last year.
Positive foreign exchange movements during the quarter increased PageGroup’s reported gross profit by 10.6 percentage points, or about £15 million. A focus on investing in its large, high-potential markets, as well as in businesses experiencing strong growth, resulted in headcount growth of 115, which was up 1.9% from December 2016.
| (£ millions) | Q1 2017 | Q1 2016 | % change | Constant currency % | Q1 2017 (US$millions) |
| Gross profit | £170.3 | £142.2 | 19.7% | 9.1% | $212.1 |
Michael Page International plc in June changed its name to PageGroup plc.
Gross profit rose in constant currency across all regions except the UK, where gross profit edged down 0.1% in constant currency. Americas revenue posted the strongest growth, up 15.2%.
Gross profit in North America — which comprised 8% of PageGroup — rose 13% in constant currency, driven by the US market. PageGroup continued to diversify its business in the US, with 16% growth outside the New York financial services market. Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles had record quarters, driven by a 26% year-over-year increase in fee earner headcount. Additionally, US property and construction reported more than 100% growth in gross profit.
Gross profit by geography
| (£ millions) | Q1 2017 | Q1 2016 | % change | Constant currency % | Q1 2017 (US$millions) |
| Europe, Middle East and Africa | £78.6 | £61.6 | 27.6% | 14.8% | $97.9 |
| United Kingdom | £36.4 | £36.4 | -0.1% | -0.1% | $45.3 |
| Asia Pacific | £30.8 | £25.9 | 18.8% | 3.9% | $38.4 |
| Americas | £24.5 | £18.3 | 33.8% | 15.2% | $30.5 |
Quote
“France, having increased fee earner headcount by 17% year on year, delivered an excellent quarter, with growth of 26%,” CEO Steve Ingham said. “Germany continued to grow in double digits. The UK delivered a flat result, its best performance for a year, despite client and candidate confidence levels remaining impacted by Brexit-related uncertainty. There was continued growth in China, up 6%. Excluding Singapore, South East Asia, another of the group’s large, high-potential markets, delivered growth of 25%. In the US, where we increased fee earners by 26% year on year, we saw a strong improvement, up 16%, and Latin America, excluding Brazil, delivered growth of 31%.”
Gross profit by segment
| (£ millions) | Q1 2017 | Q1 2016 | % change | Constant currency % | Q1 2017 (US$millions) |
| Accounting and financial | £65.2 | £55.2 | 17.9% | 7.8% | $81.2 |
| Legal, technology, HR, secretarial and other | £37.5 | £32.0 | 17.2% | 6.2% | $46.7 |
| Engineering, property & construction, procurement & supply chain | £35.8 | £27.7 | 29.5% | 17.8% | $44.6 |
| Marketing, sales and retail | £31.8 | £27.3 | 16.4% | 6.0% | $39.6 |
Share price and market cap
Shares in PageGroup plc closed up 7.34% to £443.90, according to londonstockexchange.com.