International HR consulting group Penna Consulting has reported a pre-tax profit of £0.8m compared with a loss of £0.8m in the corresponding period in 2010, according to its interim results for the six months to 30 September.

Stephen Rowlinson, chairman of Penna, says: “Profits for the first half of the year were in line with our expectations and showed a marked improvement on both first and second halves of last year.

“Forward commitments from our clients suggest that demand for our outplacement services will continue to grow during the second half of this year and this is likely to account for the majority of our profits this year and into 2012-13. We do not expect a marked recovery in recruitment over that same period.”