Michael Page grows on US and Asia fees
MICHAEL PAGE said that its profits improved by more than a third yesterday, mainly bolstered by stronger job markets in Asia and the Americas.
The white-collar recruitment giant saw third quarter gross profits – also known as fee income – climb by 37 per cent to £112.7m compared with the same period in 2009. This is also a 0.9 per cent improvement on the second quarter.
Michael Page said the increase was mainly linked to the recovery in demand for permanent employees – which brought in £87.8m in fees for the period worldwide – but that temporary employee demand was also starting to show signs of growth.
The London-based group splits its business between permanent and temporary recruitment and said for the first time this year, temporary employees were in demand, pushing year-on-year fee income up 5.5 per cent to £24.9m.
Asia Pacific continued to drive Michael Page’s overall fees up despite comprising just 18 per cent of the company’s business.
Gross profit for the region came to £20.3m, marking an 88 per cent rise on last year and a 12.5 per cent rise on the last quarter.
Similarly, Michael Page reported strong growth in the Americas, predominantly driven by the company’s Latin American arm, which posted a 73.7 per cent spike in fees to £14.8m.
Chief executive Steve Ingham said the UK, Continental Europe and North America – which had been difficult regions for Michael Page’s business – continued to perform well.
UK fees were up 20.9 per cent to £33m, while Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) rose by a quarter to £44.6m.