Michael Page’s UK results strong as CFO resigns
14 October 2013
Increases in permanent and temporary hiring provided saw the strongest UK growth in over two years at PageGroup, in an interim management statement released the same day the resignation of the company’s chief financial officer was announced.
Mon, 14 Oct 2013
Increases in permanent and temporary hiring provided saw the strongest UK growth in over two years at PageGroup, in an interim management statement released the same day the resignation of the company’s chief financial officer was announced.
Gross profit in the UK market increased by 5% year-on-year in Q3 2013 – the largest increase since Q2 2011 – reaching £31m. However, group profits were almost level over the same period, increasing by 0.4% to £127m, and the group’s chief executive officer highlighted expectations of a difficult fourth quarter.
Kelvin Stagg has been appointed to acting CFO this morning, following Andrew Bracey’s resignation last Friday (11 October 2013).
The unusual timing of the resignation was brought up during the company’s investor call and queried by recruiter.co.uk, however, a spokesperson said the company will make no further comment. Stagg, who joined the company in 2006, has served as group financial controller and company secretary.
Michael Page’s UK growth was driven by record quarters in property & construction, buying & merchandising, design & production, and digital marketing sectors. UK headcount increased by 47 to 1,303 between Q2 and Q3 2013.
However, the company expects a difficult fourth quarter across the group and the share price fell 6% in the hours following the announcement of the results.
Steve Ingham, chief executive officer of PageGroup, said: “We saw good performances throughout the third quarter in a number of markets. Our businesses in the US, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and the Middle East all performed particularly well.” Ingham added Australian, France and Germany experienced challenging quarters.
Gross profit from temporary placements increased 4.4% to £30.2m, however, profit from permanent placement fell 0.8% to £96.8m.
Group headcount increased by 2.3% to 5,071 between Q2 and Q3 2013. In addition, fee earner headcount was up 157 in Q3, while operational support headcount down 41.
Increases in permanent and temporary hiring provided saw the strongest UK growth in over two years at PageGroup, in an interim management statement released the same day the resignation of the company’s chief financial officer was announced.
Gross profit in the UK market increased by 5% year-on-year in Q3 2013 – the largest increase since Q2 2011 – reaching £31m. However, group profits were almost level over the same period, increasing by 0.4% to £127m, and the group’s chief executive officer highlighted expectations of a difficult fourth quarter.
Kelvin Stagg has been appointed to acting CFO this morning, following Andrew Bracey’s resignation last Friday (11 October 2013).
The unusual timing of the resignation was brought up during the company’s investor call and queried by recruiter.co.uk, however, a spokesperson said the company will make no further comment. Stagg, who joined the company in 2006, has served as group financial controller and company secretary.
Michael Page’s UK growth was driven by record quarters in property & construction, buying & merchandising, design & production, and digital marketing sectors. UK headcount increased by 47 to 1,303 between Q2 and Q3 2013.
However, the company expects a difficult fourth quarter across the group and the share price fell 6% in the hours following the announcement of the results.
Steve Ingham, chief executive officer of PageGroup, said: “We saw good performances throughout the third quarter in a number of markets. Our businesses in the US, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Turkey and the Middle East all performed particularly well.” Ingham added Australian, France and Germany experienced challenging quarters.
Gross profit from temporary placements increased 4.4% to £30.2m, however, profit from permanent placement fell 0.8% to £96.8m.
Group headcount increased by 2.3% to 5,071 between Q2 and Q3 2013. In addition, fee earner headcount was up 157 in Q3, while operational support headcount down 41.
