Finance
PageGroup shares dip as Europe struggles despite China boost
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on January 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: January 19, 2026
PageGroup shares dropped as European market struggles overshadowed growth in China, raising concerns about dividends and future performance.
By Nithyashree R B
Jan 13 (Reuters) - Recruiter PageGroup posted a smaller-than-feared drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday as China returned to growth, but weakness in Europe raised questions about its dividend and outlook, knocking shares lower.
Weak business confidence and macroeconomic uncertainty have led businesses globally to scale back hiring, with recruiters struggling as firms delay new appointments and candidates remain reluctant to switch jobs.
PageGroup shares fell as much as 2.7% on Tuesday to their weakest since 2016. By 1108 GMT, they were down 1.3% at 220.4 pence.
FRANCE, BRITAIN BIGGEST DRAG ON PERFORMANCE
PageGroup, which focuses on hiring white-collar roles, posted a 67% fall in net cash for the fourth quarter to 31 million pounds ($41.77 million).
It expects operating profit for the year to December 31 to be in line with market expectations of 21.1 million pounds, representing nearly a 60% year-on-year decline.
In its largest market, France, activity deteriorated in the quarter ended December mainly due to uncertainty around the country's finance bill, CEO Nicholas Kirk told analysts.
Delayed hiring in the UK and France were the biggest drag on its performance, it said.
"We continue to see risk on FY26 expectations, together with dividend risk," Jefferies analysts said in a note.
RBC Capital Markets analysts said that given lower near-term earnings power and net cash below the group's traditional target buffer, they now assume dividend per share will fall by 43% in 2025 from a year earlier, and a further 31% in 2026.
CHINA RETURNS TO GROWTH
China saw its first quarterly growth since 2022 in the December quarter, PageGroup said, as candidates and clients became more confident in closing deals. Meanwhile, U.S. profits grew 5% on strong construction hiring.
The company reported a 4.6% decline in gross profit at constant currency in the quarter, compared with a 5.2% drop expected by analysts in company-compiled consensus.
Peers Hays and Robert Walters will report later this week.
($1 = 0.7422 pounds)
(Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Writing by Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey)
Gross profit is the revenue from sales minus the cost of goods sold. It indicates how efficiently a company is producing its goods.
Market trends are the general directions in which a market is moving, often influenced by economic factors, consumer behavior, and industry developments.
Economic growth refers to the increase in the production of goods and services in an economy over a period of time, often measured by GDP.
Investment is the allocation of resources, usually money, to generate income or profit. It can involve purchasing assets like stocks, bonds, or real estate.
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