PageGroup Regulatory News (PAGE)

7 March 2018

Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2017

PageGroup plc ("PageGroup"), the specialist professional recruitment company, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2017.

HIGHLIGHTS*

· Group gross profit up 9.8% to £711.6m, a record year for the Group

· 22 countries had record years, with strong gross profit performances in many markets:

o France +25%, Germany +12%, Spain +16%, Greater China +14%,

Latin America +14%, South East Asia +12% and the US +21%

· Strongest regional gross profit growth in EMEA (47% of the Group) up 15.0%

· Operating profit at the top end of market expectations of £118.3m

· Operating profit increased 11.3% driven by increase in gross profit

· Conversion rate** up to 16.6% (2016: 16.3%)

· Net increase of 786 fee earners (+16.7%); total headcount at a record level of 7,029

· 78:22 fee earner to support staff headcount ratio, a new record for the Group

· Total ordinary dividend increased 4.3% to 12.50p

· £40m special dividend paid in October of 12.73p per share

*All growth rates in constant currency at prior year rates unless otherwise stated

**Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit

Commenting on the results and the outlook, Steve Ingham, Chief Executive Officer of PageGroup, said:

"2017 was a year of many records. We delivered our best ever gross profit for the Group, as well as for each of our five Large High Potential Markets and three of our four regions. At the end of the year, we had a record number of fee earners, as well as our highest ever fee earner to operational support staff ratio.

"Gross profit increased by 9.8% and operating profit by 11.3% in constant currencies. Operating profit for the Group was £118.3m and our conversion rate increased to 16.6%. This was driven by a combination of improved business performance and operational efficiencies, broadly offset by challenging economic conditions in markets such as Australia, Brazil, Singapore and the UK. This was achieved alongside our investments in fee earners, up 16.7%, and the cost of our strategic transformation programmes.

"In 2017, foreign exchange impacted our results positively, with gross profit benefiting by £29m and operating profit by £6m.

"We continue to invest in our digital strategy to consistently improve how we source and then engage with our customers. Our websites and advertising programmes continue to drive applications with almost all countries hitting all-time highs in January 2018 to increase awareness of our brands. We had over 100 million views of our content through the year and have seen this rewarded, winning the LinkedIn global award for the Most Socially Engaged Recruiter for a second time. We look forward to delivering a more comprehensive update on our approach to Digital & Technology, as well as several other topics, at our Investor afternoon on 15 May.

"In 2018 we will continue to invest in our Large High Potential Markets, as well as in markets with favourable trading conditions. However, we remain cautious in several markets as we progress through the year: primarily in the UK, where we will focus on protecting margins; in Australia, where we have invested in headcount and a new office in Canberra; and in Brazil, which remains challenging, despite a stronger performance in the fourth quarter. We will, as always, continue to focus on driving profitable growth while being able to respond quickly to changes in market conditions."

Analyst meeting

The Company will be presenting to a meeting of analysts at 9.00am today at

FTI Consulting

200 Aldersgate

Aldersgate Street

London EC1A 4HD

If you are unable to attend in person, you can also follow the presentation on the following link:

http://www.investis-live.com/pagegroup/5a8c02052ce68913003e3dc9/vwdv

Please use the following dial-in numbers to join the conference:

United Kingdom (Local) 020 3936 2999

All other locations +44 20 3936 2999

Please quote the access code 39 33 04 to gain access to the call

The presentation and a recording of the meeting will be available on the Company's website later today at

http://www.page.com/investors/investor-library/2018.aspx

Enquiries:

MANAGEMENT REPORT

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

This Management Report has been prepared solely to provide additional information to shareholders to assess the Group's strategies and the potential for those strategies to succeed.

This Management Report contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements are made by the Directors in good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of their approval of this report and such statements should be treated with caution due to the inherent uncertainties, including both economic and business risk factors, underlying any such forward looking information.

GROUP STRATEGY

At PageGroup we have a clear strategic vision. We aim to be the leading specialist recruiter in each of the markets in which we operate. We have sought to achieve this by developing a significant market presence in major global economies, as well as targeting new markets where we see the greatest potential for long-term gross profit growth at attractive conversion rates.

We offer our services across a broad range of disciplines and specialisms, solely within the professional recruitment market. Our origins are in permanent recruitment, but a quarter of gross profit is now in temporary placements, where local culture and market conditions allow. In particular, we focus on opportunities where our industry and market expertise can set us apart from our competition. This enables us to offer a premium service that is valued by clients and attracts the highest calibre of candidates.

Our mix of permanent to temporary recruitment reflects the balance of our business mix, both in terms of brands, where Michael Page, our largest brand, operating at higher salary levels, has a naturally higher level of permanent recruitment, as well as our geographic mix. We are market leaders in regions such as Latin America, Greater China and South East Asia, where for cultural reasons, white collar temporary recruitment has only recently emerged.

PageGroup is focused on delivering against three key strategic objectives to achieve its strategic vision and sustainable financial returns. These are: 1) to look for organic, high margin and diversified growth; 2) to position the business to be efficiently scalable and highly flexible to reflect market conditions; and 3) as a people-oriented, organically driven business, to nurture and develop talent and skills which are fundamental to us achieving long-term sustainable growth.

We therefore invest significantly in our people, as the recruitment, retention and development of the best talent available is central to our ability to grow the business and to manage our resources through economic cycles. Investment in the business has been focused on developing the long-term sustainability of the business and is supported by significant balance sheet strength and cash flow generation. 

Organic, scalable growth

Our strategy is to grow organically, achieved by drawing upon the skill and experience of proven PageGroup management, ensuring we have the best and most experienced home-grown talent in each key role. Our team-based structure and profit share business model is highly scalable. The small size of our specialist teams means we can increase headcount rapidly to achieve growth when market conditions are favourable.

Conversely, when market conditions tighten, these entrepreneurial, profit-sharing teams reduce in size largely through natural attrition. Consequently, our cost base contracts during the lean times. Our strategy for organic growth has served the business well over the 40 years since its inception and we believe it will continue to do so. We have grown from a small, single-discipline recruitment company operating in one country to a large multidiscipline, multinational business, operating in 36 countries represented by our four key brands of Page Executive, Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Outsourcing.

Diversification by region and discipline

Our strategy is to expand and diversify the Group by industry sectors, professional disciplines, geography and level of focus, be it Page Executive, Michael Page, Page Personnel or Page Outsourcing, with the objective of being the leading specialist recruitment consultancy in each of our chosen markets.

As recruitment is a cyclical business, impacted significantly by the strength of economies, diversification is an important element of our strategy in order to reduce our dependency on individual businesses or markets, thereby increasing the resilience of the Group. This strategy is pursued entirely through the organic growth of existing and new teams, offices, disciplines and countries, maintaining a consistent team and meritocratic culture as we grow.

Talent and skills development

We recognise that it is our people who are at the heart of everything we do, particularly as an organically grown business where ensuring we have a talent pool with experience through economic cycles and across both geographies and disciplines is critical. Investing in our people is, therefore, a vital element of our strategy. We seek to find the highest calibre staff from a wide range of backgrounds and then do our very best to retain them through offering a fulfilling career and an attractive working environment.

This includes a team-based structure, a profit share business model and continuous training and career development, often internationally. Our strong track record of internal career moves and promotion from within means that people who join us know that they could be our future senior managers and main Board Directors.

Sustainable growth

When we invest in a new business, be it a new country, a new office or a new discipline, we do so for the long term. Downturns in the general economy of a country or in specific industries will inevitably have a knock-on effect on the recruitment market. However, it has been our practice in the past, and remains our intention, to maintain our presence in our chosen markets through these downturns, while closely controlling our cost base. In this way, we are able to retain our highly capable management teams in whom we have invested. Normally, we find that we gain market share during downturns, which positions our business for market-leading rates of growth when the economy improves. Pursuing this approach means that we carry spare capacity during downturns, which can have a negative effect on profitability in the short term. A strong balance sheet is, therefore, essential to support the business at these times.

Our strategic priorities comprise the following:

· increase the scale and diversification of PageGroup by growing organically existing and new teams, offices, disciplines, brands and countries;

· manage the business with a team and meritocratic culture, while delivering a consistent and high quality client and candidate experience;

· invest through cycles in our Large, High Potential Markets of Germany, Greater China, Latin America, South East Asia and the US to achieve scale and a market leading position;

· manage our fee earner headcount in all other markets to reflect prevailing market conditions, by selectively adding to geographies and disciplines where there is positive growth momentum, while reducing headcount where the outlook for growth or fee earner productivity is poor;

· focus on operational support consistency; and

· focus on succession planning and international career paths to encourage retention and development of key staff.

The main factors that could affect the business and the financial results are described in the "Principal Risks and Uncertainties" section in the current PageGroup plc Annual Report and Accounts 2017.

GROUP RESULTS  

At constant exchange rates, the Group's revenue and gross profit for the year ended 31 December 2017 both increased 9.8%. At reported rates, revenue increased 14.7% to £1,371.5m (2016: £1,196.1m) and gross profit increased 14.6% to £711.6m (2016: £621.0m).

The Group's revenue mix between temporary and permanent placements was 60:40 (2016: 60:40) and for gross profit our permanent to temporary ratio was 75:25 (2016: 76:24). Revenue from temporary placements comprises the salaries of those placed, together with the margin charged. This margin on temporary placements increased slightly to 21.2% in 2017 (2016: 21.0%). Overall, pricing remained relatively stable across all regions, although a stronger pricing environment was experienced in markets and disciplines where there were increased instances of candidate shortages.

Our Large, High Potential Markets category increased 14.8% in constant currencies and achieved a record gross profit of £222.7m and growth of 19.9% in reported rates. All five markets included within this category achieved record gross profit and delivered double digit growth.

Total Group headcount increased by 930 in the year, up 15.2% to a record 7,029. This comprised a net increase of 786 fee earners (+16.7%) and an increase of 144 operational support staff (+10.4%), reflecting the continued strong focus on operational efficiency. The ratio of net additions in the year was 85 fee earners to 15 operational support staff.

As a result, our fee earner to operational support staff ratio improved to a record level of 78:22. In total, administrative expenses increased 14.1% to £593.2m (2016: £520.1m). The Group's operating profit from trading activities totalled £118.3m (2016: £101.0m), an increase of 11.3% at constant rates and 17.2% in reported rates. 

The Group's conversion rate of gross profit to operating profit from trading activities increased to 16.6% (2016: 16.3%). This reflected a combination of steadily improving conditions in a number of markets, offset in part by more challenging conditions in some of the Group's larger individual markets such as Australia, Brazil, Singapore and the UK.

OPERATING PROFIT AND CONVERSION RATES

The Group's organic growth model and profit-based team bonus ensures cost control remains tight. Approximately three-quarters of costs were employee related, including wages, bonuses, share-based long-term incentives, and training & relocation costs.

Our fee earner to operational support staff ratio improved to a record level of 78:22, with our ongoing focus on conversion rates and maximising productivity from the investment of 227 fee earners added in 2016, as well as the further 786 added in 2017. Net additions in the year were at a ratio of 85 fee earners to 15 operational support staff.

The combination of gross profit growth, the weakness in Sterling and the ongoing focus on cost control resulted in operating profit of £118.3m (2016: £101.0m), an increase of 17.2% in reported rates and 11.3% in constant currencies.

Depreciation and amortisation for the year totalled £19.1m (2016: £17.1m). This included amortisation relating to our operating system, PRS, of £8.1m (2016: £7.6m).

The Group's conversion rate for the period of 16.6% was an improvement from 16.3% in 2016. This was achieved alongside the Group's investment programme, which was focused in particular on our Large, High Potential Markets, and despite the tough market conditions faced in some of the Group's core markets as well as our operational support programmes.

In EMEA, conversion increased from 19.0% to 21.0%. This was driven by the benefits of operational gearing coming through, combined with cost benefits from our new European shared service centre in Barcelona. In the UK, the conversion rate fell from 16.5% to 11.4%, while Asia Pacific remained broadly flat at 17.1% (2016: 17.3%), despite our high level of fee earner investment in the region. The America's conversion rate increased from 5.3% to 9.0% due to an improvement in trading conditions.

The Group benefited from movements in foreign exchange rates, as Sterling weakened against almost all currencies in which the Group operates. The weakness of Sterling increased the Group's revenue, gross profit and operating profit by £58m, £29m and £6m, respectively.

A net interest charge of £0.2m reflected the continuing low interest rate environment. Interest of £0.2m was received on cash balances held through the year, offset by financial charges relating to the Group's invoice discounting facility and overdrafts used to support local operations of £0.4m.

Earnings per share and dividends

In 2017, basic earnings per share increased 14.7% to 26.5p (2016: 23.1p), reflecting the improved business performance, as well as some favourable foreign exchange movements. Diluted earnings per share, which takes into account the dilutive effect of share options, was up 14.3% to 26.4p (2016: 23.1p).

The Group's strategy is to operate a policy of financing the activities and development of the Group from our retained earnings and to maintain a strong balance sheet position. We first use our cash to satisfy our operational and investment requirements and to hedge our liabilities under the Group's share plans. We then review our liquidity over and above this requirement to make returns to shareholders, firstly by way of ordinary dividend.

Our policy is to grow this ordinary dividend over the course of the economic cycle, in line with our long-term growth rate; we believe this enables us to sustain the level of ordinary dividend payments during a downturn as well as increasing it during more prosperous times.

Cash generated in excess of these first two priorities will be returned to shareholders through supplementary returns, using special dividends or share buybacks.

In line with the improved growth rates and increase in operating profits, a final dividend of 8.60p (2016: 8.23p) per ordinary share is proposed. When taken together with the interim dividend of 3.90p (2016: 3.75p) per ordinary share, this would imply an increase in the total dividend for the year of 4.3% over 2016 to 12.50p per ordinary share.

The proposed final dividend, which amounts to £27.1m, will be paid on 18 June 2018 to shareholders on the register as at 18 May 2018, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 7 June 2018.

After consultation with our shareholders, we also paid a special dividend of 12.73p per share on 11 October 2017, totalling £40m. We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2018 and will make returns to shareholders in line with the above policy.

Cash flow and balance sheet

Cash flow in the year was strong, with £124.5m (2016: £121.3m) generated from operations. The closing net cash balance was £95.6m at 31 December 2017, an increase of £2.8m on the prior year. The movements in the Group's cash flow in 2017 reflected the underlying trading conditions, with a £19.6m increase in working capital.

The Group had a £50m invoice financing arrangement and £13m uncommitted overdraft facilities to support cash flows across its operations and ensure rapid access to funds should they be required. None of these were in use at the year end.

Income tax paid in the year was £38.2m (2016: £32.5m). The increase of £5.7m over 2016 arose largely because of a payment in the UK on agreeing the taxation of prior year repayments of VAT which had been fully provided for.

Net capital expenditure in 2017 was £16.2m (2016: £23.4m). Spending on software decreased from 2016 when we completed the implementation of our new operating system, PRS and started the transition to our new Global Finance System. Spending on property, plant and equipment decreased due to large office moves in 2016 in New York, Tokyo and Neuilly, Paris, which is now the Group's largest office by headcount. There were no such significant moves in 2017.

Dividend payments were up on the prior year at £78.3m (2016: £56.3m), as a result of the larger special dividend paid in 2017. There was also a significant increase in cash receipts from share option exercises. In 2017, £12.7m was received by the Group from the exercise of options compared to £0.4m received in 2016, driven by the higher share price. In 2016, £15.1m was also spent on the purchase of 3.7m shares by the Employee Benefit Trust to satisfy future obligations under our employee share plans. No such purchase was made in 2017.

The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade receivables, which amounted to £245.4m at 31 December 2017 (2016: £205.1m), comprising permanent fees invoiced and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary placement business, but not yet paid. Day's sales in debtors at 31 December 2017 were 53 days (2016: 50 days).

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EMEA)

EMEA is the Group's largest region, contributing 47% of the Group's gross profit in the year. With operations in 18 countries, PageGroup has a strong presence in the majority of EMEA markets, and is the clear leader in specialist permanent recruitment in the two largest, France and Germany. Across the region, permanent placements accounted for 70% and temporary placements 30% of gross profit.

The region comprises a number of large, proven markets, such as France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, across which there is a broad range of competition. EMEA also includes one of the Group's Large, High Potential Markets, Germany, which has low penetration rates (markets where less than 30% of recruitment is outsourced) and significant growth potential, particularly in temporary recruitment. In addition, there are a number of markets such as Poland, Turkey and Africa that are less developed, with limited competition, but are increasingly looking for professional recruitment services. The Middle East, where PageGroup is the largest international recruiter, has some of the Group's highest conversion rates.

In 2017, the EMEA region saw strong market conditions, with 10 countries delivering record gross profit for the year. In constant currency, revenue increased 18.1% on 2016 and gross profit increased by 15.0%. In reported rates, revenue in the region was up 25.6% to £676.0m (2016: £538.4m), and gross profit increased 22.2% to £332.3m (2016: £271.9m). The region benefited from favourable foreign exchange movements that increased revenue and gross profit by £40m and £20m, respectively.

Our larger businesses in France, Germany and the Netherlands, together representing nearly 60% of the region by gross profit, grew 25%, 12% and 14% respectively, for the full year in constant currencies. Michael Page Interim in Germany, where last year we invested heavily in temporary and contracting recruitment, grew 19%. Overall, 9 countries, representing 84% of the region, delivered double-digit growth during the year.

The Middle East and Africa, which represented 4% of the region, saw an improvement compared to the prior year with a decline of -1% (2016: -7%).

The 34.8% increase in operating profit for 2017 to £69.7m (2016: £51.7m) and the increase in the conversion rate to 21.0% (2016: 19.0%) was the result of continued favourable market conditions in the region, combined with good control over costs as a result of our transition in to our European Shared Service Centre.

Headcount across the region increased by 443 (+17.4%) to 2,996 at the end of 2017 (2016: 2,553). The majority of this increase was fee earners, as the business added headcount where growth opportunities were strongest, predominately in France, Germany and Southern Europe.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK represented 20% of the Group's gross profit in 2017 and is the Group's largest single market, operating from 27 offices covering all major cities. It is a mature, highly competitive and sophisticated market with the majority of vacant positions being outsourced to recruitment firms. PageGroup has a market leading presence in permanent recruitment across the UK and a growing presence in temporary recruitment. In the UK, permanent placements accounted for 70% and temporary placements 30% of gross profit.

The UK business operates under the four brands of Michael Page, Page Personnel, Page Executive and Page Outsourcing with representation in 12 specialist disciplines via the Michael Page brand. There remains opportunity to roll-out new discipline businesses under the lower-level Page Personnel brand, which now represents 22% of UK gross profit. Our Michael Page business was impacted the most by the current macro-economic uncertainty, with activity levels stronger at the lower salary levels and in Page Personnel.

Revenue of £312.9m (2016: £324.5m) and gross profit of £140.8m (2016: £146.3m) declined 3.6% and 3.8% respectively, reflecting continued economic uncertainty. 

UK disciplines such as Engineering (+6%), Property & Construction (+10%) and Technology (+7%), performed well. However, market conditions in our Legal discipline (-11%) and Sales and Marketing disciplines were more challenging, with Marketing down 11%. Michael Page and Page Personnel were affected relatively equally, down 4% and 3%, respectively. These challenging market conditions resulted in a decline in operating profit of 33.8% to £16.0m (2016: £24.2m) and a reduction in the conversion rate to 11.4% (2016: 16.5%). Excluding the effect of share plan charges, for which the UK takes a disproportionate charge due to location of senior management, conversion would have been around 2 percentage points higher.

Headcount remained broadly flat at 1,407 at the end of December 2017 (2016: 1,411). With a relatively high staff turnover of newer, less experienced consultants, we will continue to monitor activity and will, if needed, use that turnover to lower headcount, and therefore costs, by natural attrition.

 ASIA PACIFIC

Asia Pacific represented 19% of the Group's gross profit in 2017, with 73% of the region being Asia and 27% Australasia. Other than in the financial centres of Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong, the Asian market is generally highly under-developed, but offers attractive opportunities in both international and domestic markets at good conversion rates. Two of our Large, High Potential Markets, Greater China and South East Asia, are in this region. With a highly experienced management team, over 1,000 staff and limited competition, the size of the opportunity in Asia is significant. Across Asia, driven by cultural attitudes towards white collar temporary recruitment, permanent placements accounted for 95% and temporary placements 5% of gross profit.

Australasia is a mature, well-developed and highly competitive recruitment market. PageGroup has a meaningful presence in permanent recruitment in the majority of the professional disciplines and major cities in Australia and New Zealand. Page Personnel has a growing presence and significant potential to expand and grow market share.

In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue increased 7.4% and gross profit increased by 10.2%. In reported rates, revenues increased 12.7% to £236.3m (2016: £209.7m), while gross profit rose 14.6% to £137.2m (2016: £119.7m).

Asia, representing 14% of the Group, delivered gross profit growth of 15%. Greater China returned to growth in the year up 14% (2016 -4%), driven by Mainland China where our offices in Beijing and Shanghai performed particularly well. In Hong Kong, where we have a large number of multinational clients, we also saw an improvement in market conditions and delivered growth of 7%. South East Asia was up 12% on the prior year driven by growth in Indonesia and Malaysia up 48% and 11% respectively. Singapore, despite challenging market conditions, returned to growth in the second half of the year. Japan, where we invested heavily in fee earners, saw growth of 23% and delivered a record year. In Australia, where we were up 1% against the prior year, we saw an improvement towards the end of the year following a 25% investment in our fee earner headcount and the opening of a new office in Canberra.

Operating profit rose 13.5% to £23.5m (2016: £20.7m), with the conversion rate broadly flat at 17.1% (2016: 17.3%) despite our fee earner investment in the region. Headcount across the region rose by 327 (27.1%) in the year, ending the year at 1,532 (2016: 1,205). The majority of these headcount additions were in Asia, particularly Greater China and Japan.

THE AMERICAS

The Americas represented 14% of the Group's gross profit in 2017, being North America (56% of the region) and Latin America (44% of the region). Both the US and Latin America are two of the Large, High Potential Markets in our growth strategy. The US, where we have eight offices, has a well-developed recruitment industry, but in many disciplines, especially technical, there is limited national competition of any scale. PageGroup's breadth of professional specialisms and geographic reach is uncommon and provides a competitive advantage. Latin America is a very under-developed region, where PageGroup enjoys the leading market position with over 600 employees in six countries and 14 offices. There are few international competitors and none with regional scale. Across Latin America, permanent placements accounted for 91% of gross profit and temporary placements 9%.

In constant currencies, revenue increased by 12.8% and gross profit increased by 16.4%. In reported rates, revenue increased by 18.5% to £146.3m (2016: £123.5m) while gross profit improved 21.9% to £101.3m (2016: £83.1m). During the year, the region benefited from favourable foreign exchange movements that increased revenue and gross profit by £7m and £5m, respectively.

In North America, our gross profit increased by 18% in constant currencies. This was driven by the US (+ 21%) where we saw strong performances from our regional offices including Boston, Chicago and Los Angeles, as our strategy of diversification continued into disciplines outside of Financial Services in New York.

In Latin America, gross profit was up 14% year-on-year in constant currencies. Our business in Brazil returned to growth, up +3%, as we saw an improvement in trading conditions as the year progressed. Excluding Brazil, the other countries in the region, which made up two thirds of Latin America, saw growth of 20% and all delivered record years.

Operating profit increased 108.6% to £9.2m (2016: £4.4m), with a conversion rate of 9.0% (2016: 5.3%). Headcount increased by 164 (+17.6%) in 2017 to 1,094 (2016: 930).

OTHER FINANCIAL ITEMS

Foreign exchange

Foreign exchange provided a substantial benefit to our reported results for the year, increasing gross profit by £29m, administrative expenses by £23m and therefore operating profit by £6m. This impact was felt globally, but the largest impact was within EMEA, where gross profit increased by £20m.

Taxation

The tax charge for the year was £35.1m (2016: £27.9m). This represented an effective tax rate of 29.7% (2016: 27.9%). The rate is higher than the effective UK rate for the calendar year of 19.25% (2016: 20.0%) principally due to the impact of disallowable expenditure and higher tax rates in overseas countries. There are some countries in which the tax rate is lower than the UK, but the impact is very small either because the countries are not significant contributors to Group profit or the tax rate difference is not significant.

The effective rate was impacted principally by the US tax reform which reduced the headline rate of tax from 35% to 21% from 1 January 2018. This resulted in a write down of deferred tax assets representing the future value for accumulated losses and other deductions which, together with other adjustments in the US, increased the tax charge by 2.4%. Going forwards, depending on the relative profitability of the US within PageGroup and having regard to the interaction of federal tax with state tax, we may expect the headline rate to benefit the Group ETR by c. 0.5 percentage points. In addition, the tax rate was impacted by tax on share based payments (0.7% decrease), a reduction in provisions for tax risk (0.6%) and the recognition/derecognition of losses (0.3% decrease).

The tax charge for the year reflects the Group's tax strategy, which is aligned to business goals. It is PageGroup's policy to pay its fair share of taxes in the countries in which it operates and deal with its tax affairs in a straightforward, open and honest manner. The Group's tax strategy is set out in detail on our website in the Investor section under "Responsibilities".

Share options and share repurchases

At the beginning of 2017 the Group had 17.9m share options outstanding, of which 7.8m had vested, but had not been exercised. During the year, options were granted over 1.7m shares under the Group's share option plans. Options were exercised over 3.2m shares, generating £12.7m in cash, and options lapsed over 1.0m shares. At the end of 2017, options remained outstanding over 15.5m shares, of which 8.6m had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2017, no shares were repurchased by the Company or the Group's Employee Benefit Trust, and no shares were cancelled (2016: 3.7m shares were purchased at a cost of £15.1m).

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)

The source of data and calculation methods year-on-year are on a consistent basis, including changes resulting from the use of 2017 DEFRA conversion factors. The movements in KPIs are in line with expectations.

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2017

The above results all relate to continuing operations

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 31 December 2017

Consolidated Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2017

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 31 December 2017

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ended 31 December 2017

Notes to the consolidated preliminary results

For the year ended 31 December 2017

1. Corporate information

PageGroup plc (the "Company") is a limited liability company incorporated in Great Britain and domiciled within the United Kingdom whose shares are publicly traded. The consolidated preliminary results of the Company as at and for the year ended 31 December 2017 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group").

The consolidated preliminary results of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2017 were approved by the directors on 6 March 2018. The Annual General Meeting of PageGroup plc will be held at the registered office, Page House, The Bourne Business Park, 1 Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2QW on 7 June 2018 at 9.30am.

2. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

Whilst the information included in this preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs") as adopted for use in the European Union and as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs.

The consolidated financial statements comprise the financial statements of the Group as at 31 December 2017 and are presented in UK Sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand (UK £'000), except when otherwise indicated.

Going concern

The Group's business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position are set out in the Management Report. The Management Report also includes a summary of the Group's financial position, its cash flows and its borrowing facilities.

The directors believe the Group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully. The Group's forecasts and projections, taking account of reasonably possible changes in trading performance, show that the Group should be able to operate within the level of its current committed facilities.

After making enquiries, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Annual Report and Accounts.

Nature of financial information

The financial information contained within this preliminary announcement for the 12 months to 31 December 2017 and 12 months to 31 December 2016 do not comprise statutory financial statements for the purpose of the Companies Act 2006, but are derived from those statements. The statutory accounts for PageGroup plc for the 12 months to 31 December 2016 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and those for the 12 months to 31 December 2017 will be filed following the Company's Annual General Meeting.

The auditor's reports on the accounts for both the 12 months to 31 December 2017 and 12 months to 31 December 2016 were unqualified and did not include a statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Annual Report and Accounts will be available for shareholders in April 2018.

New accounting standards, interpretations and amendments adopted by the Group

The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the condensed consolidated preliminary results are consistent with those followed in the preparation of the Group's annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2016.

We are continuing with our review and implementation of two new Accounting Standards, "IFRS 15 - Revenue from Contacts with Customers" and "IFRS 16 - Leases". The potential impact on our accounts of both of these Standards were disclosed in our Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2016. Our expectations as to their impact remain broadly in line with these disclosures. A final conclusion on IFRS 15 and a further update on IFRS 16 will be provided in this year's Annual Report and Accounts.

The Group has not early adopted any standard, interpretation or amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective.

3. Segment reporting

All revenues disclosed are derived from external customers.

The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group's accounting policies. Segment operating profit represents the profit earned by each segment including allocation of central administration costs. This is the measure reported to the Group's Board, the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of resource allocation and assessment of segment performance.

(a) Revenue, gross profit and operating profit by reportable segment

The above analysis by destination is not materially different to analysis by origin.

The analysis below is of the carrying amount of reportable segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets. Segment assets and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis. The individual reportable segments exclude current income tax assets and liabilities. Non-current assets include property, plant and equipment, computer software, goodwill and other intangible.

(b) Segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets by reportable segment

The below analyses in notes (c) revenue and gross profit by discipline (being the professions of candidates placed) and (d) revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements have been included as additional disclosure over and above the requirements of IFRS 8 "Operating Segments".

(c) Revenue and gross profit by discipline

(d) Revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements

4. Financial income / (expenses)

5. Taxation

Tax on profit was £35.1m (2016: £27.9m). This represented an effective tax rate of 29.7% (2016: 27.9%). The rate is higher than the effective UK Corporation Tax rate for the year of 19.25% (2016: 20.0%) due to profits and disallowable items of expenditure being generated in countries where corporation tax rates are higher than in the UK.

6. Dividends

The proposed final dividend had not been approved by the Board at 31 December and therefore has not been included as a liability. The comparative final dividend at 31 December 2016 was also not recognised as a liability in the prior period.

The proposed final dividend of 8.60p (2016: 8.23p) per ordinary share will be paid on 18 June 2018 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18 May 2018.

7. Share-based payments

In accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based Payment", a charge of £7.7m has been recognised for share options and other share-based payment arrangements (including social charges) (31 December 2016: £4.2m).

8. Earnings per ordinary share

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

The above results all relate to continuing operations.

9. Property, plant and equipment

Acquisitions and Disposals

During the period ended 31 December 2017 the Group acquired property, plant and equipment with a cost of £13.4m (31 December 2016: £14.1m).

Property, plant and equipment with a carrying amount of £3.9m were disposed of during the year ended 31 December 2017 (2016: £1.4m), resulting in a profit on disposal of £0.2m (2016: loss of £0.2m).

10. Trade and other receivables

11. Trade and other payables

12. Cash flows from operating activities

13. Cash and cash equivalents