UK recruiter Michael Page's interim profit jumps on Asia, Americas growth
Michael Page Interim Profit Report and Market Performance
Aug 6 (Reuters) - British recruiter Michael Page reported a jump in half-year pre-tax profit on Thursday, as growth in Asia Pacific and the Americas offset weakness in other markets amid persistent geopolitical uncertainties.
Key Highlights from the Interim Report
CEO Statement on Market Outlook
• "Whilst we have seen improvement and signs of a normalisation in trading in a number of our markets, there remains a high degree of uncertainty in the outlook for the rest of the year," CEO Nicholas Kirk said in a statement.
Cost Management and Hiring Trends
• Recruiters, including Michael Page, have been leaning on cost cuts to shore up profits as geopolitical tensions weigh on hiring, with firms increasingly shifting toward shorter-term contracts as they navigate the fallout from tariffs and the Iran war.
Regional Market Performance
Growth Regions
• About half of the firm's markets grew in the first half, with Asia-Pacific, Americas and Southern Europe more than offseting challenging hiring markets in France, Northern Europe and the UK.
Challenging Markets
• The firm, formerly PageGroup, reaffirmed its annual profit forecast in line with a company-provided consensus of £28 million ($37.69 million).
Financial Results
• Its pre-tax profit for the six months ended June rose to £6.5 million from £0.2 million reported a year earlier.
($1 = 0.7428 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)