Page is red in spite of UK profits growth
Shares in PageGroup fell after the recruitment company warned profits for the year would be lower than previously expected.
In Britain, where it is known as Michael Page, the group recorded year-on-year gross profit growth of 5 per cent – the best quarterly rise since the second quarter of 2011.
But third-quarter group profits increased only slightly by 0.4 per cent to £127million, hit by a slowdown in activities in France, Germany and Australia.
And the group said it expected “another challenging quarter”, forecasting that full-year operating profits would be slightly lower than the £70.5million analysts had expected, coming in at around £68million.
Analysts at Investec said they were cautious after the “subdued” trading statement, despite the firm’s good long-term prospects.
The company named finance controller Kelvin Stagg as acting finance director following Andrew Bracey’s surprise resignation. Its shares closed down 24½p, a fall of 5 per cent, at 470p.
