The results, published this morning, reveal group GP rose to £621m in a record year for the group, with strong performances from France +6%, Germany +9%, Italy +16%, the Netherlands +26%, Spain +23% and Latin America (excluding Brazil) +19%. Overall group revenue increased 12.3% to £1,196.1m from £1,064.9m over the period.

However in the UK, the group saw revenue of £325m down from £338m in 2015 and GP of £146m amid “challenging” conditions for the group’s accounting & finance, sales & marketing and Michael Page divisions. The group’s technology, legal and procurement and supply chain divisions, though, all performed well over the period.

Commenting on the results and the outlook, PageGroup CEO Steve Ingham said: “PageGroup delivered an increase of 3% in GP and 1.4% in operating profit in constant currencies in 2016, and we achieved a record result from our large, high potential markets. The group's conversion rate increased slightly to 16.3% from 16.2%, due to improved business performance and operational efficiencies offsetting the challenging economic conditions encountered in some of our larger markets. In 2016, foreign exchange impacted our results positively, with GP benefiting by £48m and operating profit by £10m.

“Despite the challenges in a number of our larger markets, such as the UK, Brazil and China, the unpredictable nature of the current cycle and our limited visibility, we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, while remaining able to respond quickly to any changes in market conditions. We will update the market on our 2017 performance in four weeks' time on the 12 April.”