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View All NewsPageGroup gross profit up 7% in constant currency during Q2
UK-based specialist recruitment firm PageGroup plc gross profit rose 7.4% in constant currency in the second quarter with the fastest growth happening in the Americas, where gross profit rose 17.4% in constant currency.
Gross margin declined in the UK amid continued Brexit uncertainty impacting candidate and client confidence.
In the US, gross profit rose 22%. PageGroup noted strong performances in its Boston, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles offices.
| (£ millions) | Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | % change | % change constant currency | Q2 2019 (US$ thousands) |
| EMEA | £108.9 | £100.2 | 8.7% | 9.0% | $138.2 |
| Asia Pacific | £43.8 | £41.2 | 6.4% | 4.7% | $55.6 |
| Americas | £36.9 | £30.9 | 19.2% | 17.4% | $46.8 |
| UK | £35.0 | £35.9 | -2.4% | -2.4% | $44.4 |
| Total | £224.5 | £208.2 | 7.9% | 7.4% | $284.9 |
PageGroup noted gross margin in mainland China fell 1% due to the continuing impact of trade tariff uncertainty, particularly among larger international clients. Social unrest in Hong Kong also had an impact.
The company expects 2019 operating profit to be toward the lower end of its forecast range given current macro-economic conditions.
Quote
“We continued to invest in markets where we saw the greatest growth, such as the US and India, but we are mindful of the weaker macro-economic conditions seen in much of Continental Europe,” said CFO Kelvin Stagg.
Gross profit by segment
| (£ millions) | Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | % change | % change constant currency | Q2 2019 (US$ thousands) |
| Accounting and financial services | £78.1 | £72.1 | 8.3% | 8.0% | $99.1 |
| Legal, technology, HR, secretarial, healthcare | £55.7 | £49.7 | 12.1% | 11.7% | $70.7 |
| Engineering, property & construction, procurement & supply chain | £53.9 | £49.6 | 8.8% | 7.8% | $68.4 |
| Marketing, sales and retail | £36.9 | £36.8 | 0.0% | -0.2% | $46.8 |
PageGroup divides its segments as:
- Finance — Accounting and financial services
- Professional services — Legal, technology, HR, secretarial, healthcare
- Technical — Engineering, property and construction, procurement and supply chain
- Marketing, sales and retail
Share price and market cap
Shares in PageGroup closed down 15.09% to £428.80 in London; the company had a market cap of £1.66 billion, according to FT.com.