* Q1 gross profit up 2%; March up 31%
* Sees 2021 operating profit between 90-100 mln stg
* Shares hit more than 15-month high
(Recasts, adds comments, details from report)
By Indranil Sarkar and Yadarisa Shabong
April 9 (Reuters) - A hiring surge last month has given
recruiter PageGroup confidence on its financial outlook
for the year, sending its shares up sharply, but the company
also warned of uncertainty due to the latest coronavirus
infections in some countries.
The owner of Michael Page and Page Personnel brands on
Friday forecast annual operating profit to come in ahead of last
year but still below 2019 levels. Its shares rose 8.8% in early
trade. They touched their highest level since December 2019 at
one stage.
Chief Executive Officer Steve Ingham said a noticeable
improvement in March was seen throughout the group and was
achieved despite the backdrop of continued and increasing
restrictions or lockdowns in many markets.
"At this stage of the recovery, it is not easy to determine
whether the improved performance is the result of pent-up supply
and demand, or the beginning of a sustainable trend," Ingham
said.
A hiring freeze during the coronavirus shutdowns took a
heavy toll on recruiters last year, but a ramp-up in vaccination
programmes and re-opening of economies have encouraged many
companies to resume recruiting.
PageGroup, which operates in 37 countries, now expects
annual operating profit to be in the range of 90 million pounds
($123.38 million) to 100 million pounds, compared with 17
million pounds last year and 146.7 million pounds in 2019.
The recruiter posted a 2% rise in its first-quarter gross
profit, helped by a 31% growth in March alone.
The UK job market has started to rebound as the country
plans to ease national lockdown measures over the next few
months, with an IHS Markit report https://www.markiteconomics.com/Public/Home/PressRelease/5b8b9b21e88449909adce44d3c1d55a1
on Thursday pointing to the sharpest rise in permanent
placements in March for nearly six years.
PageGroup's first-quarter profit in Britain declined 11%
year-on-year but this compared with a 34.2% slump in the
fourth-quarter of 2020.
The company added 122 recruitment staff or "fee earners" in
the quarter, it said, but total headcount is still down 12.6%
compared with pre-pandemic levels.
The British company, which helps to hire executives,
professionals and clerical staff, had suspended financial
forecasts last year.
($1 = 0.7294 pounds)
(Reporting by Indranil Sarkar in Bengaluru; editing by
Uttaresh.V and Jane Merriman)
Robert Walters (RWA)
Hays (HAS)