(Alliance News) - PageGroup PLC on Wednesday raised its annual guidance after the company's second quarter performance recovered to the record pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019.
Shares were up 4.1% to 599.00 pence in London early morning trading.
The recruitment services provider said it expects operating profit this year of GBP125 million to GBP135 million, up from the GBP90.0 million to GBP100.0 million it was forecasting in April. Operating profit was GBP17.0 million in 2020, which had been well down on GBP146.7 million in 2019.
The guidance uplift comes after a strong second quarter that saw gross profit of GBP219.7 million, up 94% from the coronavirus-affected prior year and 2.0% higher than 2019. Gross profit generated in the UK was 9.0% lower than in 2019, however Asia Pacific saw a 11% improvement and in the Americas region the figure grew 7.7% in the same period.
Surrey-based PageGroup said it delivered record quarters in what it described as 4 of its 5 large, high-potential markets and in 17 countries overall.
"This noticeable improvement in the second quarter was seen throughout the group and was achieved despite the backdrop of continued restrictions or lockdowns in many of our markets," commented Chief Executive Steve Ingham.
Commenting on the positive results, Ingham noted it was "not easy to determine whether the improved performance is still the result of pent-up supply and demand, or a sustainable trend".
Looking ahead, the company said the strength of its first half performance had increased confidence in its outlook for the year.
By Will Paige; willpaige@alliancenews.com
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PageGroup (PAGE)