UK recruiter Michael Page's interim profit jumps on Asia, Americas growth (updated)
UPDATE 1-UK recruiter Michael Page's interim profit jumps on Asia, Americas growth Adds details and context throughout
Aug 6 (Reuters) - British recruiter Michael Page PAGE.L reported a jump in half-year pre-tax profit on Thursday, as growth in Asia Pacific and the Americas offset weakness in other markets amid persistent geopolitical uncertainties.
Here are some details from its interim report:
"Whilst we have seen improvement and signs of a normalisation in trading in a number of our markets, there remains a high degree of uncertainty in the outlook for the rest of the year," CEO Nicholas Kirk said in a statement.
Recruiters, including Michael Page, have been leaning on cost cuts to shore up profits as geopolitical tensions weigh on hiring, with firms increasingly shifting toward shorter-term contracts as they navigate the fallout from tariffs and the Iran war.
About half of the firm's markets grew in the first half, with Asia-Pacific, Americas and Southern Europe more than offseting challenging hiring markets in France, Northern Europe and the UK.
The firm, formerly PageGroup, reaffirmed its annual profit forecast in line with a company-provided consensus of £28 million ($37.69 million).
Its pre-tax profit for the six months ended June rose to £6.5 million from £0.2 million reported a year earlier.
($1 = 0.7428 pounds)
(Reporting by Prerna Bedi and Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)
((Prerna.Bedi@thomsonreuters.com ; +91 98052 24616))