PageGroup Regulatory News (PAGE)

10 March 2016

PageGroup

Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2015

Michael Page International plc ("PageGroup"), the specialist professional recruitment company, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2015.

*Constant Exchange Rates (CER)

HIGHLIGHTS (at CER)

· Record gross profit up 9.3% to £556m - all regions grew gross profit year-on-year

· Strong gross profit performances from major economies:

o UK +10%, Germany +14%, US +19% and Greater China +11%

· Record gross profit from Large, High Potential Markets**, up 9% overall and up 15% ex Brazil

· Operating profit increased 20%, reflecting improved business performance and our focus on operational efficiencies

· Conversion rate*** improved to 16.2% (2014: 14.7%)

· Net increase of 206 fee earners (+4.8%); total headcount at a record level of 5,835

· 77:23 fee earner to support staff headcount ratio, maintaining the record for the Group

· New operating system roll-out ahead of target - c. 85% of fee earners on system at year end

· Total ordinary dividend increased 4.5% to 11.5p

· In addition, £50m special dividend paid in October - 16p per share

** Germany, Greater China, Latin America, South East Asia, US.

***Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit

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

"PageGroup delivered an increase of 9.3% in gross profit and 20.2% in operating profit in constant currencies in 2015 and we achieved a record result from our Large, High Potential Markets. The Group's conversion rate rose to 16.2% from 14.7%, reflecting an improved business performance and operational efficiencies. In 2015, foreign exchange continued to impact our results, with gross profit reduced by £26m and operating profit by £4m.

"Fee earner headcount grew 206 (+4.8%) to end the year at a record level for the Group. With our continued focus on operational efficiencies, we maintained our record fee earner to operational support staff ratio of 77:23.

"The roll-out of our new operating system, Page Recruitment System ("PRS"), progressed well in the year. Having started 2015 with around a third of our fee earners on the new system, we now have c. 85%, exceeding our year-end target of 80%. We expect to complete the roll-out in 2016.

"Our businesses in Continental Europe, the US and Latin America, excluding Brazil, all performed well. Brazil and Australia continued to find conditions difficult and towards the end of the year we also experienced tougher trading in Greater China as the economic slowdown and financial market uncertainty impacted confidence. The UK also saw a slowdown in the final quarter as a result of our clients' increasing reluctance to make offers to candidates, particularly with our more senior assignments.

"Trading so far in Q1 has continued in a similar pattern to that seen in Q4, with the exception of Greater China where we have seen trading conditions deteriorate further, particularly with our multinational clients and in Hong Kong.

"Despite challenges in a number of our larger markets, the unpredictable nature of the current cycle and our limited visibility, we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth in 2016, as we did throughout 2015, whilst remaining able to respond quickly to any changes in market conditions."

Analyst meeting

The company will be presenting to a meeting of analysts at 8.30am 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/56c72dd01bab9c0a00ee8196/fy-15

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

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

http://www.pagegroup.co.uk/investors/reports-and-presentations/presentations-and-webcasts/2015.aspx

Enquiries:

MANAGEMENT REPORT

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

The 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.

The 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 nearly a quarter of the business 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.

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 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 thirty nine years since its inception and we believe it will continue to do so. We have grown from a small, single discipline management recruitment company operating in one country to a large multidiscipline, multinational business, operating in thirty five countries represented by our three key brands of Page Executive, Michael Page and Page Personnel.

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 or Page Personnel, 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, our recent decision to exit Russia being an exception. In this way, we are able to retain our highly capable management teams in whom we have invested and, 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 and countries;

· manage the business with a team and meritocratic culture, whilst 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 market 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 efficiency including the roll-out of our new technology operating platform, 'Page Recruitment System' (PRS); 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 Michael Page International plc Annual Report and Accounts 2015.

GROUP RESULTS  

At constant exchange rates, the Group's revenue for the year ended 31 December 2015 increased 7.1% and gross profit by 9.3%. In reported rates, revenue increased 1.7% to £1,064.9m (2014: £1,046.9m) and gross profit increased 4.4% to £556.1m (2014: £532.8m).

The Group's revenue mix between permanent and temporary placements was 41:59 (2014: 40:60) and for gross profit was 76:24 (2014: 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 20.8% in 2015 (2014: 20.1%). 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.

We saw strong growth from our Large, High Potential Markets category, with gross profit up 9% in constant currencies, another record performance from the category as a whole. Excluding Brazil, where we saw difficult economic conditions, the growth rate would have been 15%. Three of the five markets achieved record gross profit, and Germany delivered record gross profit from temporary recruitment, in line with the nature of our investment.

Total Group headcount increased by 257 in the year, up 4.6% to a record 5,835. This comprised a net increase of 206 fee earners (+4.8%) and an increase of 51 operational support staff (+3.9%), reflecting the continued strong focus on operational efficiency.

As a result, our fee earner to operational support staff ratio was maintained at the record level of 77:23. In total, administrative expenses increased 2.6% to £466.0m (2014: £454.4m before exceptional items). The Group's operating profit from trading activities totalled £90.1m (2014: £78.5m before exceptional items), an increase of 20.2% at constant rates, although the growth was lower at 14.8% in reported rates. 

The Group's conversion rate of gross profit to operating profit from trading activities improved 1.5 percentage points to 16.2% (2014: 14.7%). 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 Brazil and Australia.

OPERATING PROFIT AND CONVERSION RATES

The Group's organic growth model and profit-based team bonus ensures cost control remains tight. Approximately 75% of costs were employee related, including wages, bonuses, share-based long-term incentives, and training and relocation costs.

Our fee earner to operational support staff ratio maintained its record level of 77:23, with our ongoing focus on conversion rates and maximising productivity from the investment in 468 fee earners added in 2014, as well as the further 206 added in 2015.

The combination of slowly improving market conditions up to the latter part of the year, and the ongoing focus on cost control resulted in operating profit before exceptional items of £90.1m (2014: £78.5m) an increase of 14.8% in reported rates and 20.2% in constant currencies.

Our two key initiatives, outside of the operational performance of the business, the roll-out of our new operating system, PRS, and the creation of a shared service centre for Europe, have progressed well with c. 85% of our fee earners live on PRS at year end, ahead of our 80% target. The completion of our shared service centre should further improve our fee earner to operational support staff ratio.

Depreciation and amortisation for the year totalled £15.4m (2014: £17.9m). This included amortisation relating to PRS of £6.7m (2014: £8.8m). With the majority of the Group's fee earners going live on our new operating system, PRS, in 2015, we aligned the useful life of the system with the timing of the benefit.

The Group's conversion rate for the period of 16.2% (2014: 14.7%) was a strong improvement on 2014, as it was achieved alongside the Group's investment programme, which was focused in particular on its Large, High Potential Markets, and despite the tough market conditions faced in a number of the Group's core markets.

The conversion rate for the Large, High Potential Markets category was 14.8%, which was 1.4 percentage points lower than the rest of the Group of 16.2%. This was due to a combination of the headcount investment, which meant that a greater proportion of fee earners were new to the business, and the particularly difficult trading conditions in Brazil. Excluding Brazil, the conversion rate was above the Group average at 17.0%.

Conversion rates improved in all our regions. In EMEA, conversion increased from 14.2% to 14.7% and in the UK it increased from 17.4% to 19.3%. Within our two less developed regions, Asia Pacific increased from 18.9% to 20.8%, while the Americas increased from 5.6% to 7.9%, driven by an improved result in North America, partially offset by difficult trading conditions in Brazil. 

The Group was affected by the impact of movements in foreign exchange rates, as Sterling strengthened against almost all currencies in which the Group operates. This reduced the Group's revenue, gross profit and operating profit when expressed in Sterling by £57m, £26m and £4m, respectively.

A net interest income of £0.6m reflected the continuing low interest rate environment, with £1.1m of interest income on cash balances held through the year, partially offset by financial charges relating to the Group's Invoice Discounting Facility and overdrafts used to support local operations of £0.5m.

Earnings per share and dividends

In 2015, basic earnings per share, before exceptional items, increased 15.8% to 21.3p (2014: 18.4p), reflecting the improved business performance and our improved conversion rate. Diluted earnings per share, before exceptional items, which takes into account the dilutive effect of share options, was 21.1p (2014: 18.2p). After exceptional items, basic earnings per share rose 10.4% to 21.3p (2014: 19.3p) and diluted earnings per share was 21.1p (2014: 19.1p).

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 7.9p (2014: 7.58p) per ordinary share is proposed. When taken together with the interim dividend of 3.6p (2014: 3.42p) per ordinary share, this would imply an increase in the total dividend for the year of 4.5% over 2014 to 11.5p per ordinary share.

The proposed final dividend, which amounts to £24.7m, will be paid on 20 June 2016 to shareholders on the register as at 20 May 2016, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 9 June 2016.

In 2015, after consultation with our shareholders, we also paid a special dividend of 16.0p per share on 2 October 2015. We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2016 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 £101.6m (2014: £88.1m) generated from underlying operations. The closing net cash balance was £95m at 31 December 2015, an increase of £5m on the prior year. The movements in the Group's cash flow in 2015 reflected increased activity in a number of the Group's markets as the year progressed. The increase of 1.7% in the Group's revenue drove a £11.4m increase in working capital, principally in the temporary placement business. This comprised an increase of £20.2m in receivables (2014: £22.2m increase), as well as an increase in payables of £8.8m (2014: £6.8m increase).

The Group has a £50m invoice financing arrangement and a £10m committed overdraft facility to facilitate cash flows across its operations and ensure rapid access to funds should they be required, but neither of these were in use at the year end.

Income tax paid in the year was £19.1m (2014: £15.4m) an increase of £3.7m on the prior year. The increase reflects an increase in tax paid in the UK, plus withholding tax suffered in respect of repatriated cash plus a mix of lower net tax payments in EMEA and higher net payments in Asia Pacific and the Americas. Capital expenditure in 2015 was £15.2m (2014: £12.7m). Spending on software development reduced slightly on the prior year to £6.0m (2014: £6.5m) as the roll-out phase of the Group's new operating system continued during the year.

Dividend payments were up on the prior year at £85.1m (2014: £32.7m) as a result of the special dividend paid in October of £50m. There was also a significant cash receipt from share option exercises, with our employees benefiting from the higher share price. In 2015, £22.6m was received by the Group from the exercise of options compared to £4.0m received in 2014. In 2015, no payments were made to purchase shares to satisfy future employee share awards (2014: £25.4m).

The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade receivables which amounted to £163.4m at 31 December 2015 (2014: £156.1m), comprising permanent fees invoiced and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary placement business, but not yet paid. Days sales in debtors at 31 December 2015 were 46 days (2014: 45 days), reflecting continued strong credit control.

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EMEA)

EMEA is the Group's largest region, contributing 39% 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 71% and temporary placements 29% 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 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 2015, the EMEA region generally saw strong market conditions, but was impacted significantly by the weakness of the Euro. In constant currency, revenue increased 10.4% on 2014 and gross profit increased by 11.9%. In reported rates, revenue in the region was up slightly at £421m, and gross profit increased 2.3% to £217m (2014: £212m). The region suffered from adverse foreign exchange movements that reduced revenue and gross profit by £42m and £20m, respectively.

Our larger businesses in France and Germany, together representing 47% of the region by gross profit, grew 7% and 14%, respectively, for the full year in constant currencies. Page Personnel in Germany, where last year we invested heavily in temporary and contracting, grew 32%. Page Personnel now represents approximately a third of our German business. Overall, 13 countries, representing around 95% of the region, grew in constant currencies compared to 2014.

Our businesses in the Middle East, which represented 4% of the region, saw a decline of 8% in gross profit compared to 2014 due to political uncertainty and the weakness in the oil and gas sector.

The 5.9% increase in operating profit for 2015 to £31.9m (2014: £30.1m) and in the conversion rate to 14.7% (2014: 14.2%) were driven by improvements in market conditions, offset by headcount increases.

Headcount across the region increased by 182 (8.6%) to 2,295 at the end of 2015 (2014: 2,113). The majority of the increase was fee earners as the business added headcount where growth opportunities were strongest, mainly in Southern Europe.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK represented 27% of the Group's gross profit in 2015 and is the Group's largest single market, operating from 28 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 leading market 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 three brands of Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Executive, with representation in 13 specialist disciplines via the Michael Page brand. There is significant opportunity to roll-out new discipline businesses under the lower-level Page Personnel brand, which now represents 21% of UK gross profit. The Michael Page business has limited competition of any scale, particularly in regional centres, and is growing its market share.

The UK business enjoyed steady growth through the first three quarters and saw signs of greater client confidence both in London and the regions. Revenue of £338m (2014: £326m) and gross profit of £152m (2014: £138m) were up 3.7% and 9.6%, respectively, reflecting continued progress in the business. 

However, as we approached the end of the year, clients became increasingly reluctant to make decisions, but activity levels, such as job acquisitions and first interviews, remained positive. Activity levels were stronger at the lower salary levels and in Page Personnel.

UK disciplines such as Finance & Accounting (+13%), Property & Construction (+42%), Legal (+20%) and HR (+15%), performed strongly. Market conditions in our technical disciplines were more challenging, with Engineering down 3%. Michael Page was up 7%, while Page Personnel was up 19% for the full year, reflecting stronger activity in temporary and permanent recruitment at the professional clerical level, as well as the roll-out of new disciplines. These improvements in market conditions enabled operating profit in the UK to increase 21.5% to £29.2m (2014: £24.1m) and the conversion rate to increase to 19.3% (2014: 17.4%).

Headcount rose 5.2% during the year to 1,516 at the end of December 2015 (2014: 1,441). Headcount was added selectively to strongly performing disciplines. Support headcount rose 1% to support the roll-out of our new operating system, PRS.

ASIA PACIFIC

Asia Pacific represented 20% of the Group's gross profit in 2015, with 72% of the region being Asia and 28% 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 marketplaces at good conversion rates. Two of our Large, High Potential Markets, South East Asia and Greater China, are in this region. With a highly experienced management team, a network of 16 offices, over 750 staff and limited competition, the size of the opportunity in Asia is huge. Across the region, permanent placements accounted for 87% and temporary placements 13% 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 this business and grow market share.

In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue increased 3.6% and gross profit increased by 4.9%. In reported rates, revenues declined 1.1% to £191m (2014: £193m), while gross profit rose 3.4% to £109m (2014: £106m).

Asia enjoyed stronger trading conditions than Australasia and also benefited from the increasing experience and maturity of our local consultants. This helped Greater China to achieve gross profit growth of 11% in constant currencies, despite growth slowing in the second half of the year. This was most notable amongst multi-nationals, with concerns over economic news from Greater China. South East Asia was flat on the prior year, due to difficult trading conditions in Singapore and Malaysia. In Australia, gross profit was down 2% in constant currency. We made leadership and management changes in Australia during the second half, which, we believe, will enable us to better react to the current environment and growth opportunities that exist.

Operating profit rose 13.7% to £22.7m (2014: £20.0m), resulting in an increase in the conversion rate to 20.8% (2014: 18.9%). Headcount across the region rose by 39 (3.4%) in the year, ending the year at 1,180 (2014: 1,141). The majority of these headcount additions were in Asia.

THE AMERICAS

The Americas represented 14% of the Group's gross profit in 2015, being North America (54% of region) and Latin America (46% of region). Both the US and Latin America are considered to be Large, High Potential Markets in our growth strategy. The US, where we have 8 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 around 500 employees in 6 countries and 20 offices. There are few international competitors and none with any regional scale. Across the region, permanent placements accounted for 85% and temporary placements 15% of gross profit.

In constant currencies, revenue increased 11.2% and gross profit increased by 7.4%. In reported rates, revenue increased 6.1% to £115m (2014: £108m) while gross profit improved 2.0% to £78.4m (2014: £76.9m). During the year, the region suffered from significant adverse foreign exchange movements that reduced revenue and gross profit by £5m and £4m, respectively.

In North America, our businesses performed well, with gross profit up 18% in constant currencies. This was driven in particular by our Financial Services business in New York and tri-state area, with the US up 19%. Our Canadian business performed strongly, up 15% despite the prevailing economic conditions and the challenging oil and gas market.

In Latin America, gross profit was down 2% year-on-year in constant currencies. The region continued to operate in two divergent markets, with tough economic conditions in Brazil, which led to a fall in gross profit of 23%, partially offset by strong performances elsewhere. Our business in Brazil reacted by reducing the number of fee earners by 73 during the year and, as a consequence, remained profitable. Excluding Brazil, the other countries in the region, which made up 58% of Latin America, saw growth of 29%.

Operating profit rose 44.9% to £6.2m (2014: £4.3m), with a conversion rate of 7.9% (2014: 5.6%). Headcount decreased by 39 (-4.4%) in 2015 to 844, (2014: 883).

OTHER FINANCIAL ITEMS

Foreign Exchange

Foreign exchange had a substantial impact on our results for the year, causing a decrease in gross profit of £26m, in administrative expenses of £22m and therefore in operating profit of £4m. This impact was felt globally, but by far the largest impact was within EMEA, where gross profit was impacted by over £20m as a result of the weakening of the Euro.

Taxation

The tax charge for the year was £24.5m (2014: £21.0m). There being no exceptional items in 2015, this represented an effective tax rate of 27.0% both before and after exceptional items (2014: 26.2% after exceptional items and 27.9% before exceptional items). The rate is higher than the effective UK Corporation Tax rate for the year of 20.25% (2014: 21.5%) principally due to the impact of disallowable expenditure and higher tax rates in overseas countries which was partially offset by the recognition of tax losses.

For 2015, the underlying tax rate was 29.4% (2014: 31.0% including deduction in China of 2.2% for costs incurred in the prior periods). The reduction from 2014 was predominantly due to greater profits from territories with lower tax rates, such as the UK where the corporation tax rate has fallen from 21.5% to 20.25%. In addition to the movement in the underlying rate, the effective tax rate in 2015 was impacted by further recognition of US losses and deferred tax on share options which together reduced the rate by 2.4%.

The tax charge for the year reflects the Group's tax policy which is aligned to business goals. It is PageGroup's policy to pay its fair share of tax in the countries in which it operates and to deal with its tax affairs in a straightforward, open and honest manner.

Share Options and Share Repurchases

At the beginning of 2015 the Group had 24.1m share options outstanding, of which 7.7m had vested, but had not been exercised. During the year, options were granted over 1.9m shares under the Group's share option plans. Options were exercised over 6.0m shares, generating £22.6m in cash, and options lapsed over 2.1m shares. At the end of 2015, options remained outstanding over 17.9m shares, of which 5.4m had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2015, no shares were purchased by the Group's Employee Benefit Trust to satisfy future employee share plan awards (2014: £25.4m). No shares were repurchased by the Company or cancelled during the year (2014: nil).

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS ("KPIs")

The source of data and calculation methods year-on-year are on a consistent basis. The movements in KPIs are in line with expectations.  

9 March 2016

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2015

The above results all relate to continuing operations.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 31 December 2015

Consolidated Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2015

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 31 December 2015

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

For the year ended 31 December 2015

Notes to the consolidated preliminary results

For the year ended 31 December 2015

1. Corporate information

Michael Page International 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 2015 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 2015 were approved by the directors on 9 March 2016. The Annual General Meeting of Michael Page International plc will be held at the registered office, Page House, The Bourne Business Park, 1 Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2QW on 9 June 2016 at 9.30am.

2. Basis of preparation and 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 2015 and are presented in UK Sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand (UK £'000), except when otherwise indicated.

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, despite the current uncertain economic outlook. 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. 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 2015 and 12 months to 31 December 2014 do not comprise statutory financial statements for the purpose of the Companies Act 2006, but are derived from those statements. The statutory accounts for Michael Page International plc for the 12 months to 31 December 2014 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and those for the 12 months to 31 December 2015 will be filed following the Company's Annual General Meeting.

The auditors' reports on the accounts for both the 12 months to 31 December 2015 and 12 months to 31 December 2014 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 2016.

Significant accounting policies

The accounting policies applied by the Group in these consolidated preliminary results are the same as those followed in the preparation of the Group's annual consolidated financial statements for the year ending 31 December 2014.

The Group has not early adopted any other 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 Chief Executive Officer, 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 income tax assets and liabilities. Non-current assets include property, plant and equipment, computer software, goodwill and other intangibles.

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

(c) Revenue and gross profit by discipline

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

4. Exceptional items - Prior Year

In October 2013, Page Personnel France (PPF) received notice from the Competent Authorities of the UK and France of their decision regarding a transfer pricing case that had arisen as a result of a tax audit in March 2008. The decision, which was unexpected, increased the profit generated by PPF, which, as per the mandatory profit share or "participation aux résultats de l'entreprise" that is particular to France, drove a requirement to pay increased employee profit share, both to employees of PPF and also to the temporary workers placed by that company. As a result, the Group took in 2013 an exceptional charge of £2.5m relating to prior periods, and £0.6m that was included within operating profits from trading activities.

In December 2014, PPF received notice from the French tax authorities that they would not be seeking to make any further transfer pricing adjustments as a result of their audit of the tax years 2011 and 2012. In addition, as no assessment was raised within the statutory timeframe, there would be no adjustment for the 2010 tax year. Accordingly, in 2014, the Group recorded £1.6m relating to the reversal of amounts that were previously provided as an exceptional charge and a further £0.6m that was included within operating profit. There was also a release of £0.3m of exceptional interest and £0.8m of income tax relating to this exceptional item.

There are no exceptional items in the current year.

5. Financial income / (expenses)

6. Taxation

The tax charge for the year was £24.5m (2014: £21.0m). There being no exceptional items in 2015, this represented an effective tax rate of 27.0% both before and after exceptional items (2014: 26.2% after exceptional items and 27.9% before exceptional items). The rate is higher than the effective UK Corporation Tax rate for the year of 20.25% (2014: 21.5%) principally due to the impact of disallowable expenditure and higher tax rates in overseas countries which was partially offset by the recognition of tax losses.

7. Dividends

The proposed final dividend had not been approved by the Board at 31 December 2015 and therefore has not been included as a liability. The comparative final dividend at 31 December 2014 was also not recognised as a liability in the prior year.

The proposed final dividend of 7.90p (2014: 7.58p) per ordinary share will be paid on 20 June 2016 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 20 May 2016 subject to approval by shareholders.

8. Share-based payments

In accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based Payment", a charge of £7.6m has been recognised for share options and other share-based payment arrangements (including social charges), (2014: £5.8m).

9. Earnings per 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.

10. Property, plant and equipment

Acquisitions and disposals

During the year ended 31 December 2015 the Group acquired property, plant and equipment with a cost of £9.2m (2014: £6.2m).

Property, plant and equipment with a carrying amount of £1.1m were disposed of during the year ended 31 December 2015 (2014: £1.1m), resulting in a loss on disposal of £0.7m (2014: loss of £0.3m).

11. Trade and other receivables

12. Trade and other payables