Recruiter Page Group sees higher fees as wages rise
The business said it is benefiting from wage inflation.
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Your support makes all the difference.Recruiter Page Group has said the staff it hires for clients are being paid more as candidates are in short supply.
The business said it is benefiting from wage inflation – the company takes a fee based on the salary of the person they help employ.
But it also warned of global political uncertainty, and said its business in China is still feeling the heat in the second quarter of the year as Covid-19 restrictions persist.
Chief executive Steve Ingham said: “We delivered increased levels of productivity, with the group continuing to benefit from favourable trading conditions, including wage inflation and increased fee rates resulting from the high demand and short supply of candidates.”
It was a record quarter for the business, with gross profit up by more than a quarter to £280.9 million over the three months.
In June the business made more than £100 million in gross profit for only the second time in a single month.
We are pleased with the group’s performance in the first half of the year
The business said it had benefited from quicker hiring, as video interviews speeded up the process.
Its growth was led by strong performances in the US and Germany in particular, but most other markets, including the UK, also performed well.
The situation in greater China, however, is less positive for Page Group. The country still has many pandemic restrictions in place, and the recruiter saw a 13% drop in gross profit from mainland China and an 8% fall in Hong Kong.
Mr Ingham said: “Looking forward, we are clearly aware of the heightened degree of macroeconomic and political uncertainty that exists globally, particularly with regards to increasing inflation in the majority of the markets in which we operate.
“We are monitoring all KPIs (key performance indicators) in the business regularly, but to date we have seen no significant changes apart from the usual seasonal movements.
“We are pleased with the group’s performance in the first half of the year and currently expect 2022 full-year operating profit to be in line with company compiled consensus of £205 million.”