PageGroup profits plummet as global hiring slowdown endures

Profits at PageGroup, one of Britain’s largest recruitment firms, have nosedived by more than 99 per cent in the first half of the year as the protracted downturn in the global hiring market continues to bite. The company, well known for its accountancy sector placements, revealed that demand for its services across Europe has weakened still further, particularly in France and Germany — the group’s two largest continental markets.

The FTSE 250-listed recruiter disclosed a pre-tax profit of just £200000 between January and June, a steep fall from the £277 million recorded in the same period last year. Revenue also slipped by 111 per cent to £7984 million. Despite these challenges, PageGroup is maintaining its dividend at 536p per share, matching its declaration from the previous summer.

The shares, already suffering a 30 per cent fall over the past twelve months, dropped a further 075p to close at 26725p. The company’s post-pandemic boom, driven during the so-called Great Resignation, saw it employ more than 7000 recruiters worldwide in 2022. Now, only 5163 recruiters remain, with 207 consultant roles already cut this year as fees have dwindled.

This downsizing supports management’s ambitions to reduce costs by a further £15 million annually, a vital measure as the sector faces what some insiders describe as the most prolonged hiring downturn in living memory. Recruitment fees have contracted sharply since the end of 2022 amid rising economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Companies are hesitating to hire, and candidates are reticent to move for fear of job security, making placements hard to finalise.

The drag on performance spans all markets: the UK, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas have each seen declines. Fees in the UK dropped by 134 per cent in the first half, just ahead of the 16 per cent contraction suffered on the Continent. The British home market continues to suffer from subdued confidence among clients and candidates, which is delaying key hiring decisions.

Trading headwinds remain in Europe and the UK, although slight improvements in activity and sentiment have been detected in Asia and the United States. Analyst expectations for PageGroup’s full-year operating profit stand at £22 million, significantly below last year’s £52 million and far from the peak of nearly £200 million achieved in 2022. Industry experts suggest that improvements in profitability will have more to do with reduced restructuring costs than any broad-based recovery in the jobs market.