Recruitment titan PageGroup hiked profit guidance after hiring spree

Recruitment firm PageGroup upgraded its profit guidance for the fourth time in seven months as a hiring frenzy continues.

Labour shortages in key markets have helped the group, which posted a gross profit of £246.8m for the three months to December, rising from a £166m gross profit in the same period last year.

The firm said it now expects its full year operating profit to be marginally in excess of its previous guidance of around £165m.

Overall profit for the year hit £879.1m, exceeding pre-pandemic levels of 2019.

There was a 14.1 per cent profit in growth in its UK business, which Steve Ingham, PageGroup chief executive officer said came “despite the backdrop of continued restrictions or lockdowns.”

Ingham added: “We believe that our strategy of maintaining and investing in our platform throughout the pandemic has been key to us achieving the results we are announcing today.

“This was demonstrated by our investment in experienced hires, as well as continuing with the roll out of technology and innovation.”

Shares were down 0.63 per cent on Wednesday evening.

It comes as PageGroup rival Robert Walters reported results that exceeded expectations earlier this week.

The firm outlined fourth-quarter profits of £95.1m after a stellar December performance, which broke company records.

Robert Walters posted a 39 per cent year-on-year boost in net fee income, with earnings 48 per cent higher in the Asia-Pacific region, its biggest market.