UK recruitment slowdown impacts PageGroup's earnings negatively
PageGroup, a leading global recruitment firm, has announced a target of achieving annualized savings of £15m by 2026, through a simplified management structure and efficiency drives [1]. This ambitious goal comes in the wake of a challenging first half of the year, during which the company experienced a significant drop in profits.
In the first half of 2025, PageGroup reported a sharp fall in profits, with operating profit tumbling 93% to £2.1m, down from £28.4m a year earlier [1]. The decline in profits was due to subdued hiring across the UK and Europe, which also led to a 9.7% drop in group gross profit to £389.7m [1].
The UK division, which generates 12% of the group's gross profit, suffered a 13.4% drop to £46.6m [1]. As a result, the UK division booked a £7m operating loss [1]. Despite this, client and candidate confidence remained low, stretching out the time to fill roles [1].
The FTSE 250 firm saw its revenue fall by 11% to £798.4m in the first half of 2025 [1]. To counteract these losses, PageGroup has been trimming headcount, with UK fee earners down nearly eight per cent in the half [1].
However, activity levels remained robust across most of PageGroup's markets, with a slight deterioration in activity levels and trading in Continental Europe, particularly in France and Germany [1]. The board kept the full year operating profit forecast broadly in line with market consensus of around £22m [1].
In response to the challenging market conditions, PageGroup has pledged to press ahead with cost cuts [1]. Stripping out one-offs, underlying profit came in at roughly £15m [1]. An interim dividend of 5.36p per share was declared, unchanged from last year [1].
Despite the current financial challenges, PageGroup remains optimistic about its future prospects. The company's full year target for 2025 is to deliver an operating profit broadly in line with the market consensus of around GBP 22 million [1]. This ambitious goal reflects the company's confidence in its ability to navigate the current economic uncertainty and emerge stronger in the long run.
In response to the dropping profits and challenging market conditions experienced in the first half of 2025, PageGroup has pledged to reduce expenses by focusing on cost cuts, aiming to achieve £15m in annualized savings by 2026, with efforts directed towards a simplified management structure and efficiency drives in the finance, business, and markets sectors. Despite the current financial struggles, PageGroup remains optimistic about its future prospects, maintaining its full-year target for 2025, which is to deliver an operating profit broadly in line with the market consensus of around GBP 22 million, reflecting its confidence in navigating the economic uncertainty and growing stronger in the long run.
