International specialist recruitment firm PageGroup (MPI: LSE) reported gross profit for the second quarter ending 30 June 2016 of £156.9 million, an increase of 3.7% in constant currency (CC) compared with £145.3 million during Q2 2015.

Gross profit broken down by recruitment type was as follows:

Commenting, Steve Ingham, Chief Executive Officer of PageGroup, said: “The Group delivered gross profit growth of 3.7% in constant currencies, in line with Q1, and 8.0% growth on a reported basis. We saw good performances in Continental Europe and Latin America (ex-Brazil), which combined now account for around 45% of the Group. However, the challenging market conditions in several of our larger markets, including Greater China, the UK and Brazil, continued.”

“Current market conditions remain stronger at lower salary levels and in temporary roles and this was reflected by the strong growth of 9% in our Page Personnel business, where temporary recruitment represents 40% of gross profit. Our Michael Page business, where temporary recruitment represents only 16%, grew 2%. Overall, temporary recruitment grew by 6.5%, compared to 2.9% in permanent,” Ingham said.

By geography, the company reported gross profit growth is as follows:

EMEA grew Q2 gross profit by 13.6% compared to 2015 (Q1 2016: 10.3%) with seven countries producing record results for the quarter. Performance was strong in both Page Personnel and Michael Page, with growth of 15% and 13% respectively.

Continental Europe grew 16%. Growth in France improved from 2% in Q1 to 8% in Q2. Germany saw improvement from Q1, growing at 8%, with Page Personnel up 20%. The Netherlands had a growth of 35%, and accounted for 10% of the region. Southern Europe delivered a growth of 25%. The Middle East, 3% of the region, was impacted by the oil price and ongoing political uncertainty resulting in a decline of 28%.

Meanwhile, UK gross profit fell by 2.3% impacted by pre-Referendum uncertainty. Page Personnel, which has a greater proportion of temporary business and represented 22% of the UK, delivered the better results, with growth of 2% compared to -3% in Michael Page. The temporary recruitment businesses were more resilient with growth of 3%. Within the disciplines, Financial Services was down 7%, though this only represents 4% of the UK business. Legal was the best performing discipline, with growth of 23%. The mix of gross profit and growth rates of Private Sector (88%) and Public Sector (12%) were -1% and -9% respectively.

Asia Pacific gross profit declined 3.3%, driven by macro-economic concerns in China and the wider Asia region, which particularly impacted the group’s multi-national clients.

The Americas declined 1.1% in constant currencies. North America was down 2% in the quarter, with the US down 1% and Canada down 6%.PageGroup reports gross profit across four primary business segments: Finance & Accounting (Fin & Acc); Legal, Technology, HR, Secretarial, and Healthcare (Legal & Tech), Engineering, Property & Construction, Procurement, and Supply Chain (EPPS), and Marketing, Sales, and Retail (MSR). Gross profit during Q2 2015 was broken down as follows:

“It is too early to say how the result of the EU Referendum will impact our results going forward, but the environment leading up to the vote caused a slightly weaker result in June. With continued uncertainty in the UK following the Referendum result, ongoing challenges in some of our other larger markets, the unpredictable nature of the current cycle and our limited visibility, we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, whilst remaining able to respond quickly to any changes in market conditions,” Ingham said.

As of last trade, PageGroup shares traded at £318.30, up 2.74% and 103.65% above the 52 week low of £156.30 set on 24 June 2016. Based on its current share price the company has a market value of £979.50 million.