Daily News
View All NewsPageGroup revenue up 7% in 2019, but coronavirus impacts start of 2020
Global staffing firm PageGroup plc reported revenue rose 7.0% in constant currency for the year ended Dec. 31, with revenue rising 19.0% in its Americas region. However, the company reported the coronavirus and other macroeconomic challenges have affected the start of 2020, with gross profit falling 3% year over year in January and February at the Surrey, UK-headquartered company.
| (£ thousands) | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | % change | % change constant currency | FY 2019 (US$ thousands) |
| Revenue | £1,653,948 | £1,549,941 | 6.7% | 7.0% | $2,169,318 |
| Gross profit | £855,450 | £814,902 | 5.0% | 5.0% | $1,122,008 |
| Gross margin | 51.7% | 52.6% | |||
| Profit for the year | £103,445 | £103,703 | -0.2% |
PageGroup CEO Steve Ingham said the company has 550 people across nine offices in Greater China. “With consultants continuing to work via home access, we were able to maintain contact with both candidates and clients,” he said. “After periods of office closure in some cities, we had over 90% of consultants back in our offices by the end of February.”
Some clients, however, have not yet returned to work and the company said it expects a significant impact in March and, possibly, beyond.
“With Covid-19 now impacting other markets around the world, it is too early to estimate the impact on the group’s operations,” Ingham said. “We will continue to monitor the situation closely and provide updates as necessary.”
Revenue by geography
| (£ thousands) | FY 2019 | FY 2018 | % change | FY 2019 (US$ thousands) |
| EMEA | £861,827 | £797,427 | 8.1% | $1,130,372 |
| Asia Pacific | £273,437 | £266,724 | 2.5% | $358,640 |
| Americas | £205,074 | £172,265 | 19.0% | $268,975 |
| United Kingdom | £313,610 | £313,525 | 0.0% | $411,331 |
Along with operations in a number of countries, PageGroup has eight offices in the US. It noted gross profit in the US rose 17% year over year in 2019 despite a weaker financial service sector in New York. US fee-earner headcount rose by 14% year over year.
Share price and market cap
Shares in PageGroup closed up 3.1% to £381.20 (US$488.81) on Thursday in London; the company had a market cap of £1.24 billion (US$1.59 billion).