PageGroup's quarterly profit beats forecasts as hiring in US, China improve (updated)
13/01/2026 07:33
Shares slide to lowest since 2016 Weak French, UK hiring weighs on fourth-quarter profit China sees first quarterly growth since 2022 U.S. profits rise due to construction hiring Adds CEO comment in paragraph 6, shares in paragraph 3, analyst quotes in paragraphs 8 and 9 By Nithyashree R B Jan 13 (Reuters) - Recruiter PageGroup PAGE.L posted a smaller-than-feared drop in quarterly profit on Tuesday as China returned to growth, but weakness in Europe raised questions about its dividend and outlook, knocking shares lower. Weak business confidence and macroeconomic uncertainty have led businesses globally to scale back hiring, with recruiters struggling as firms delay new appointments and candidates remain reluctant to switch jobs. PageGroup shares fell as much as 2.7% on Tuesday to their weakest since 2016. By 1108 GMT, they were down 1.3% at 220.4 pence. FRANCE, BRITAIN BIGGEST DRAG ON PERFORMANCE PageGroup, which focuses on hiring white-collar roles, posted a 67% fall in net cash for the fourth quarter to 31 million pounds ($41.77 million). It expects operating profit for the year to December 31 to be in line with market expectations of 21.1 million pounds, representing nearly a 60% year-on-year decline. In its largest market, France, activity deteriorated in the quarter ended December mainly due to uncertainty around the country's finance bill, CEO Nicholas Kirk told analysts. Delayed hiring in the UK and France were the biggest drag on its performance, it said. "We continue to see risk on FY26 expectations, together with dividend risk," Jefferies analysts said in a note. RBC Capital Markets analysts said that given lower near-term earnings power and net cash below the group's traditional target buffer, they now assume dividend per share will fall by 43% in 2025 from a year earlier, and a further 31% in 2026. CHINA RETURNS TO GROWTH China saw its first quarterly growth since 2022 in the December quarter, PageGroup said, as candidates and clients became more confident in closing deals. Meanwhile, U.S. profits grew 5% on strong construction hiring. The company reported a 4.6% decline in gross profit at constant currency in the quarter, compared with a 5.2% drop expected by analysts in company-compiled consensus. Peers Hays HAYS.L and Robert Walters RWA.L will report later this week. ($1 = 0.7422 pounds) (Reporting by Nithyashree R B in Bengaluru; Writing by Yadarisa Shabong; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Jan Harvey) ((NithyashreeRB@thomsonreuters.com;))