REG - PageGroup plc - Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 Dec 2024
06/03/2025 07:15
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RNS Number : 5490Z PageGroup plc 06 March 2025
6 March 2025
Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2024
Final dividend increased 4.5% reflecting confidence in our strategy
PageGroup plc ("PageGroup"), the specialist professional recruitment company,
announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Financial summary 2024 2023 Change Change
CC*
Revenue £1,738.9m £2,010.3m -13.5% -9.8%
Gross profit £842.6m £1,007.1m -16.3% -12.8%
Operating profit £52.4m £118.8m -55.9% -53.7%***
Profit before tax £49.1m £117.4m -58.2%
Basic earnings per share 9.1p 24.4p -62.7%
Diluted earnings per share 9.0p 24.3p -63.0%
Total dividend per share 17.11p 16.37p
(excl. special dividend)
Total dividend per share 17.11p 32.24p
(incl. special dividend)
HIGHLIGHTS*
· Group gross profit down 12.8% to £842.6m (2023: £1,007.1m)
· Operating profit of £52.4m (2023: £118.8m)
· Conversion rate** decreased to 6.2% (2023: 11.8%)
· Fee earner headcount decreased by 481 (8.2%) vs 2023, total closing
headcount of 7,361
· Due to decisive management actions, gross profit per fee earner
remains high despite market conditions
· One-off costs of c. £7m relating to Shared Services Centre
transitions in the UK and Singapore
· Strong cash position of £95.3m (2023: £90.1m)
· Total dividends of £52.0m paid during 2024
· Final dividend proposed of 11.75p per share (2023: 11.24p), up 4.5%
· Client Net Promoter Score of 61 (2023: 56), meeting our strategic
goal
· 136,816 lives changed, tracking ahead of our target to change one
million lives by 2030
*At constant currency - all growth rates in constant currency at prior year
rates unless otherwise stated
**Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit
***Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
Commenting, Nicholas Kirk, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"Market conditions remained challenging across all regions in 2024, with
worsening sentiment and reduced confidence in Europe during the second half of
the year. Despite the year-on-year decline in gross profit and operating
profit, we saw good activity levels throughout the year. The conversion of
interviews to accepted offers remains the most significant area of challenge
as ongoing macro-economic uncertainty continues to impact candidate and client
confidence, which extends the time-to-hire. We saw a slower end to 2024, which
has continued into January and February, albeit they are two of the smallest
months of the year from a trading perspective.
"We continue to review our fee earner headcount, making progress on our
strategy by reallocating resources into the areas of the business where we see
the most significant long-term structural opportunities, as well as ensuring
it remains aligned to activity levels we are seeing in each of our markets. As
a result, our fee earner headcount was down 481, or 8.2%, and we now have a
total headcount of 7,361 (2023: 7,859). Gross profit per fee earner, our
measure of productivity, remains high, down just 1.7% on 2023, due to our
action on headcount. Overall, our focus remains to balance near term
productivity with ensuring we remain well placed to take advantage of
opportunities when market conditions improve. We drove further efficiencies in
the organisation during the year, through the closure of our Shared Service
Centres in the UK and Singapore, with transition of activities into Barcelona,
Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur.
"Today the Board has proposed an increase in the final dividend of 4.5% to
11.75 pence per share, reflecting its confidence in the continued strategic
opportunities of the Group, as well as the strength of our Balance Sheet.
Combined with the interim dividend of 5.36p, this represents a total dividend
of 17.11p.
"In line with our long-term strategic goals, we made further improvements to
our customer proposition, resulting in our client net promoter score
increasing to 61 in 2024, from 56 in 2023. We also continued our progress
towards our goal of changing one million lives by 2030, with an emphasis on
our social impact programmes. As a business, we changed 136,816 lives in 2024.
"Looking ahead, a high degree of macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty
remains across the majority of our markets, notably in the UK, France and
Germany. However, we have a diversified and adaptable business model, a highly
experienced management team, a strong balance sheet and our cost base is under
continuous review. We continue to see the benefits of our investments in
innovation and technology. Customer Connect is supporting productivity and
enhancing customer experience, Page Insights is providing real time data to
inform business decisions for both Page and our customers, and we continue to
work with our partners to deploy AI and automation tools into our working
environment. Given the Group's fundamental strengths and despite the
challenging environment, we are confident in our ability to implement our
strategy, driving the long-term profitability of the Group."
Enquiries:
PageGroup plc +44 (0) 19 3226 4022
Nicholas Kirk, Chief Executive Officer
Kelvin Stagg, Chief Financial Officer
FTI Consulting +44 (0) 20 3727 1340
Richard Mountain / Susanne Yule
The Company will host a conference call and presentation for analysts and
investors at 8:30am today. The live presentation can be viewed by following
the link:
https://www.investis-live.com/pagegroup/67a49ce18a9b7a0012665f81/hjffgf
(https://url.uk.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/AqerC4RN8cJxJykLTOf9T4O3YL?domain=investis-live.com)
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 71 83 87 to gain access to the call
The presentation and recording to accompany the call will be available on the
Company's website later today at:
https://www.page.com/presentations/year/2025
(https://www.page.com/presentations/year/2025)
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
We launched our strategy in September 2023 with three key strategic goals:
delivering operating profit of £400m, changing one million lives and
increasing our client net promoter score to over 60. To achieve our strategy,
we have four pillars of growth: our core business, our technology business,
Page Executive and our Enterprise Solutions business.
Within our core business, defined as Michael Page and Page Personnel and
including all disciplines except Technology, trading conditions have been
challenging in the majority of our markets. We continue to review our
business operations and reallocate resource, in line with our strategy, into
the areas of the business where we see the most significant long-term
structural opportunities. As part of this repositioning, we reviewed
disciplines that were less profitable and transferred consultants to more
productive roles. Our broad-based global platform provides multiple
opportunities for accelerated growth when market conditions improve. We have
no overreliance on any country or sector, and therefore, we are well placed to
benefit from market recovery.
As has been widely reported, the technology sector has been impacted heavily
by tough macro factors over the past two years. Despite this, Technology
remains our second largest discipline and we continue to see resilient demand
for candidates with skills and experience in cyber, Al, machine learning and
Big Data. In 2024, we saw growth in 11 of our markets, including Brazil, India
and Mexico. We also saw further diversification into non-permanent
recruitment, which represented 41% of technology gross profit in 2024, up from
36% in 2023.
Page Executive continues to deliver the standout results of the Group, with
gross profit growth of 7% and a record year, with improvements in average
salary as well as our fee rates. This was a record year globally, as well as
in markets such as France, Germany, Italy, Mexico and Japan. We have a clear
market gap opportunity and our customers have welcomed our modern, agile
approach to senior leadership search, executive recruitment and advisory
services. We now have around 300 fee earners in Page Executive and continue to
view this as a key part of our Group strategy.
Enterprise Solutions supports our largest strategic customers with their
complex, global requirements. We have now successfully transitioned from a
regional to a global structure, aligning our leadership, sales and account
management teams, as we seek to best serve our largest clients. We have seen
early successes with a number of our largest clients. In 2024, against the
backdrop of a difficult macro, we generated 7% more gross profit from our
largest 20 clients than we did in our record year in 2022. Enterprise
Solutions plays a significant role in responding to evolving client demands
and represents an opportunity for the Group to accelerate growth across all
geographies and all segments of the market. We remain focused on winning
business that delivers conversion rates in line with our strategy. Despite the
underperformance of the overall recruitment outsourcing sector, we have seen
encouraging growth in this area in 2024.
Against our social impact goal of changing one million lives, we performed
strongly. Progress in this area is measured by the number of people whose
lives we have changed by placing them into work, as well as the number of
people who access programmes we run that support traditionally
underrepresented groups accessing employment. In 2024, we changed 136,816
lives, which brings us to a total of 645,732 lives changed since we set this
target in 2020. This puts us well on track to deliver our one million target
by 2030.
We also made excellent progress on our customer experience goal of achieving a
client net promoter score of over 60. Net promoter score is a metric used to
quantify customer loyalty and satisfaction. In simple terms, it measures how
likely our clients are to recommend us to others. Our baseline NPS score was
52 in 2022. This increased to 56 in 2023, and in 2024 our score improved again
to 61, rating us as 'excellent' and matching our 2030 target for the first
time. This highlights our commitment to providing excellent service to our
customers, further cementing our position as a benchmark of quality in our
industry.
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
qualified 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 in downturns. Our strategy for organic
growth has served the business well over the 48 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.
We have an organic growth structure, investing in existing and new teams,
offices, disciplines and countries, to ensure we maintain a consistent team
and meritocratic culture as we grow. 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.
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 the highest calibre staff from a diverse
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
international 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.
Inclusion is key to our culture and the success of our business. It is not
just an item on our to-do list, it is an inherent part of who we are and what
makes us successful. We are a people business - the people who work here, the
companies we do business with, the candidates whose lives we change for the
better on a daily basis, and the communities and individuals we help as we
give back to others. Understanding the values and cultural differences of our
employees helps them reach their potential as we build a stronger, more
successful business. We are a business which reflects society and the clients
and candidates whose lives we change.
Sustainability
Our purpose is to change lives and that is why our target to change one
million lives by 2030 sits at the centre of our corporate strategy. We change
lives by placing candidates and working with charities and other partners to
break down the barriers to employment for those from under-represented
backgrounds. In 2024, we changed a further 136,816 lives meaning we have
changed 645,732 lives since we set the target in 2020. We also furthered our
commitment to the environment by setting near-term and long-term Net-zero
science-based targets. These targets have now been formally validated by the
Science-Based Targets initiative. Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions decreased by a
further 23% this year and we have put the processes and initiatives in place
to ensure we reduce emissions across our full value chain over time, including
a focus on reducing our business travel and supply chain emissions. Our
sustainability business has achieved strong growth since 2020, and we are
proud to place candidates into sustainability-related and green jobs around
the world. For further information on our sustainability efforts, please refer
to https://www.page.com/sustainability (https://www.page.com/sustainability) .
AI and Technology
The ever-increasing use of data and AI in recruitment offers a host of
benefits, including increased efficiency and automation. We have been
collaborating with the most significant players in Big Tech for several years
to develop safe and secure, cutting-edge technology and AI systems for
everyday use by our consultants, delivering fast and accurate results. Our
proprietary platforms, Page Insights and Customer Connect, alongside our AI
systems, are industry-leading. JADE, our AI driven job advert generator,
allows our consultants to create a well written and high performing advert in
a fraction of the time it took previously. Our Time-in-Role product uses AI to
more accurately predict when a candidate is likely to start thinking about
their next move, allowing us to access the talent that is hardest to reach. AI
is also playing an increasingly important role in our global business support
functions, saving time and driving business efficiencies. All that said,
whilst technology and AI are powerful tools, human interaction is vital to
deliver the most successful recruitment outcomes for both clients and
candidates, particularly within white collar, professional recruiting. Our
consultants provide valuable expertise, market knowledge and insight to our
customers, with technology and AI playing a crucial supporting role.
GROUP RESULTS
GROSS PROFIT Reported CC
% of Group 2024 (£m) 2023 (£m) % %
EMEA 55% 462.5 549.5 -15.8% -13.4%
Americas 18% 149.2 173.3 -13.9% -9.9%***
Asia Pacific 15% 126.4 159.6 -20.8% -17.0%
UK 12% 104.5 124.7 -16.2% -16.2%
Total 100% 842.6 1,007.1 -16.3% -12.8%
Permanent 72% 605.9 733.6 -17.4% -13.9%
Temporary 28% 236.7 273.5 -13.4% -10.0%
***Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
At constant exchange rates, Group revenue decreased 9.8% to £1,738.9m (2023:
£2,010.3m), and gross profit decreased 12.8% to £842.6m (2023: £1,007.1m)
for the year ended 31 December 2024. Gross profit per fee earner decreased
1.7% in constant currencies to £150.0k (2023: £159.0k).
The Group's revenue and gross profit mix between permanent and temporary
placements were 35:65 (2023: 37:63) and 72:28 (2023: 73:27) respectively. This
is reflective of the ongoing challenging market conditions, particularly
within permanent recruitment, whereas temporary was more resilient. Revenue
from temporary placements comprises the salaries of those placed, together
with the margin charged. This margin on temporary placements was broadly in
line with 2023 at 21.0% (2023: 21.5%). Pricing remained strong across the
Group, as we continued to see candidate shortages in the majority of our
markets.
Total Group headcount decreased by 498 in the year to 7,361. This comprised a
net decrease of 481 fee earners (-8.2%) and 17 operational support staff
(-0.9%). At the end of the year, we were double running c. 65 operational
support staff due to the transition of activities from our Singapore SSC to
Kuala Lumpur. We reduced our headcount in all four quarters, with reductions
in all regions, in line with the tougher trading conditions seen throughout
2024.
In total, administrative expenses decreased 11.1% to £790.1m (2023:
£888.3m). The Group's operating profit from trading activities totalled
£52.4m (2023: £118.8m).
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. Depreciation and amortisation for the year
totalled £62.9m (2023: £66.8m).
The Group's conversion rate for the year decreased from 11.8% in 2023 to 6.2%.
This was due to the more challenging trading conditions experienced through
2024 in the majority of our markets, partially offset by the reduction in fee
earner headcount.
As part of this refined strategy and our increased focus on our conversion
rate target, we have already implemented a number of initiatives to reduce our
cost base. These initiatives focused mainly on: relocating our UK and
Singapore shared service centres, with the transition of activities to
Barcelona, Buenos Aires and Kuala Lumpur. These initiatives incurred a one-off
cost in 2024 of c. £7m. Additional initiatives to reduce our cost base
included small office closures in China and Luxembourg, and re-sizing our
operational support function to reflect the reduction in fee earner headcount.
EMEA was the Group's most profitable region in 2024, with a conversion rate of
13.2%. This was reflective of the region experiencing more resilient trading
conditions through the first half of 2024. Asia Pacific had a negative
conversion rate of 6.6% due primarily to the continued tough conditions in
Greater China, our strategic decision to hold on to our experienced headcount
in the region and the one-off cost relating to the relocation of our SSC from
Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. The Americas' conversion rate was 4.7%, with
tougher market conditions in the US during the first three quarters of the
year, but Latin America being more resilient. While the UK trading business
was profitable, despite the tougher trading conditions, the high proportion of
Group senior management and Group support based in the UK meant the region had
a negative conversion rate of 6.7%.
A net interest charge of £3.3m (2023: £1.4m) was due primarily to an IFRS 16
interest charge of £4.7m, partially offset by interest receivable of £2.2m.
Earnings per share and dividends
In 2024, basic and diluted earnings per share decreased to 9.1p and 9.0p
respectively (2023: 24.4p basic and 24.3p diluted), as a result of the
decrease in profits due to the tougher trading conditions.
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. The first use of our cash is to satisfy our
operational and investment requirements and to hedge our liabilities under the
Group's share plans.
The second use of cash is to make returns to Shareholders through ordinary
dividends. We review our liquidity over and above our operational and
investment requirements to determine the amount of these returns. 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 will enable us to sustain
the level of ordinary dividend payments during a downturn as well as to
increase it during more prosperous times.
Thirdly, any remaining surplus cash will be returned to Shareholders through
supplementary returns, using special dividends or share buybacks.
Given the high levels of surplus cash, we paid an interim dividend of 5.36
pence per share, an increase of 4.5% over the 2023 interim dividend. This
amounted to a cash return to shareholders of £16.8m, paid out in October
2024.
The Board has proposed a final dividend of 11.75p (2023: 11.24p) per ordinary
share. When taken together with the interim dividend of 5.36p (2023: 5.13p)
per ordinary share, this is an increase in the total dividend for the year of
4.5%. The proposed final dividend, which amounts to £36.8m, will be paid on
23 June 2025 to shareholders on the register as at 16 May 2025, subject to
shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 3 June 2025.
We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2025 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 £145.9m (2023: £212.0m) generated
from operations. The closing cash balance was £95.3m at 31 December 2024
(2023: £90.1m).
On 9 December 2022, PageGroup entered into a five year £80m committed
multi-currency revolving credit facility agreement with HSBC and BBVA. In
addition, PageGroup maintains an uncommitted Confidential Invoice Facility
with HSBC whereby the Group has the option to discount receivables in order to
advance cash. The Invoice Facility is for up to £50m depending on debtor
levels. Neither of these facilities were drawn as at 31 December 2024. These
facilities are used on an ad hoc basis to fund any major Group GBP cash
outflows.
Income tax paid in the year was £19.3m (2023: £59.0m) and net capital
expenditure was £15.8m (2023: £30.8m).
Total dividends of £52.0m were paid in 2024 (2023: £100.1m). Cash receipts
from share option exercises in 2024 reflected the share price over that
period, with £0.5m in 2024, compared to £1.9m in 2023. In 2024, £13.2m
(2023: £17.5m) was also spent on the purchase of shares by the Employee
Benefit Trust to satisfy future committed obligations under our employee share
plans.
The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade receivables, which
amounted to £223.3m at 31 December 2024 (2023: £270.5m), comprising
permanent fees invoiced and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary
placement business, but not yet paid. Day's sales in debtors decreased due to
temporary recruitment, which has a shorter collection period, being more
resilient in 2024 than permanent recruitment.
EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EMEA)
EMEA is the Group's largest region, contributing 55% of the Group's gross
profit in the year. With operations in 17 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, and many of the
others. Across the region, permanent placements accounted for 66% and
temporary placements 34% of gross profit.
EMEA £m Growth rates
(55% of Group in 2024) 2024 2023 Reported CC
Gross Profit 462.5 549.5 -15.8% -13.4%
Operating Profit 60.9 92.2 -33.9% -31.9%
Conversion Rate (%) 13.2% 16.8%
In constant currencies, revenue declined 13.0% to £946.8m (2023: £1,117.2m)
and gross profit declined 13.4% to £462.5m (2023: £549.5m).
Market conditions worsened throughout the year in EMEA, due mainly to softer
trading in a number of European countries. France, the Group's largest market,
declined 16%. Temporary recruitment, down 8%, was more resilient than
permanent, down 21%. Germany, our second largest market, saw particularly
challenging market conditions and declined 17%. We saw tough conditions in all
brands, with a deterioration in client and candidate confidence impacting both
permanent and temporary recruitment, down 20% and 13%, respectively. Elsewhere
in Europe, market conditions remained challenging in all countries. In the
Middle East and Africa, gross profit grew 3%.
The region delivered operating profit of £60.9m (2023: £92.2m), with a
conversion rate of 13.2% (2023: 16.8%). This was the highest conversion rate
in the Group, despite the tougher macro-economic conditions as the year
progressed. Headcount across the region decreased by 284 (-7.4%) during the
year, to 3,530 at the end of 2024 (2023: 3,814).
THE AMERICAS
The Americas accounted for 18% of the Group's gross profit in 2024, with North
America representing 55% of the region and Latin America, 45%. The US, where
we have 8 offices, has a well-developed recruitment industry, but in many
disciplines, for example construction, there is limited national competition
of any scale. PageGroup's breadth of professional specialisms and geographic
reach is uncommon and provides a real competitive advantage.
Latin America has a highly under-developed recruitment industry, where
PageGroup enjoys the market-leading position with over 800 employees in seven
countries. There are few international competitors and none with regional
scale. Across the Americas, permanent placements accounted for 82% of gross
profit and temporary placements 18%.
Americas £m Growth rates
(18% of Group in 2024) 2024 2023 Reported CC
Gross Profit 149.2 173.3 -13.9% -9.9%***
Operating Profit 6.9 17.7 -60.8% -34.2%***
Conversion Rate (%) 4.7% 10.2%
***Excluding impact of hyperinflation in Argentina
In constant currencies and excluding Argentina due to hyperinflation, revenue
decreased 6.3% to £279.8m (2023: £311.7m) while gross profit declined 9.9%
to £149.2m (2023: £173.3m).
In North America, gross profit decreased 12%, with ongoing tough market
conditions. The US declined 11%, although we saw growth and an increase in
activity levels and trading towards the end of the year, particularly in
Engineering, Accounting and Financial Services. Over 90% of our gross profit
in the US is permanent recruitment, which was considerably more challenging
than temporary recruitment in 2024.
In Latin America, excluding Argentina, gross profit declined 7% with mixed
performance across the region. Mexico, our largest country in the region,
declined 11%, due to challenging conditions and its dependency on the US.
Brazil grew 3%. The remaining four countries in the region declined 11%
collectively.
The Americas delivered operating profit of £6.9m (2023: £17.7m) due to the
resilience of our business in Latin America, offset by tougher trading
conditions in the US, where we have strategically held on to our headcount.
Across the region, headcount decreased by 2 (-0.1%) in 2024 to 1,327 (2023:
1,329).
ASIA PACIFIC
Asia Pacific represented 15% of the Group's gross profit in 2024, with 82% of
the region being Asia and 18% Australia. Other than in the financial centres
of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, the Asian recruitment industry is generally
highly under-developed and offers attractive opportunities in both
international and domestic markets at good conversion rates. With a highly
experienced management team, just under 1,000 fee earners and limited
competition, the size of the opportunity in Asia is significant. Across Asia
Pacific, driven by cultural attitudes towards white collar temporary
recruitment, permanent placements accounted for 85% and temporary placements
only 15% of gross profit, well below the Group average.
Australia is a mature, well-developed and highly competitive recruitment
market. PageGroup has a meaningful presence in white-collar permanent
recruitment in the majority of the professional disciplines and major cities
in Australia.
Asia Pacific £m Growth rates
(15% of Group in 2024) 2024 2023 Reported CC
Gross Profit 126.4 159.6 -20.8% -17.0%
Operating (Loss)/Profit -8.3 11.6 >-100% >-100%
Conversion Rate (%) -6.6% 7.3%
In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue declined 14.9% to £231.8m
(2023: £284.8m) and gross profit declined 17.0% to £126.4m (2023: £159.6m).
We experienced tough market conditions in Asia Pacific during 2024,
particularly within Greater China, where gross profit declined 23%, with
Mainland China and Hong Kong both down 24%. South East Asia declined 7%, with
Singapore down 7%. India delivered the standout result and another record
year, up 2% on 2023. Japan was down 12% on 2023, albeit against a tough
comparator. Australia declined 32%, with ongoing challenging conditions across
all states.
The region made an operating loss of £8.3m (2023: profit of £11.6m), with a
negative conversion rate of 6.6%. This was a result of the tougher trading
conditions across the region, as well as the double costs incurred due to the
transition of our SSC from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur. Headcount across the
region decreased by 20 (-1.3%) in the year, ending the year at 1,532 (2023:
1,552). Our non-operations headcount increased by 67 in 2024, due to the
double running of c. 65 heads as we transitioned our SSC from Singapore to
Kuala Lumpur.
UNITED KINGDOM
The UK represented 12% of the Group's gross profit in 2024, operating from 21
offices covering all major cities. We have actively reduced our office
footprint, which is now less than half of our peak number of offices, and 3 of
the 21 offices are serviced offices. 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 67% and temporary placements 33% of
gross profit.
We drove further efficiencies in the organisation through the migration of our
Page Personnel brand to Michael Page, which we completed in January 2025. Our
focus remains to ensure a seamless journey for our clients and candidates
through one core brand, Michael Page. Within the Michael Page brand, the UK
business has representation in 13 specialist disciplines. There remain
opportunities to increase the size and breadth of our reach in the UK under
the higher salary-level Page Executive brand, as well as by growing our
contracting/interim business and by building on our existing strengths within
permanent recruitment in Michael Page.
UK £m
(12% of Group in 2024) 2024 2023 Growth rate
Gross Profit 104.5 124.7 -16.2%
Operating Loss -7.1 -2.7 >-100%
Conversion Rate (%) -6.7% -2.2%
In the UK, revenue decreased 5.4% on 2023 to £280.5m (2023: £296.7m) and
gross profit decreased 16.2% from £124.7m in 2023 to £104.5m. We continued
to see clients deferring hiring decisions and candidates cautious about
accepting offers. Temporary recruitment, down 11%, outperformed permanent,
down 18%, reflective of market conditions.
The operating result for the year was a loss of £7.1m (2023: loss of £2.7m).
While the UK trading business was profitable despite the tougher trading
conditions, the high proportion of Group senior management and Group support
based in the UK meant the region had a negative conversion rate of 6.7%.
Headcount decreased by 192 (-16.5%) in the year to 972 at the end of December
2024 (2023: 1,164).
Risks
The main factors that could affect the business and the financial results are
described in the "Principal Risks and Uncertainties" section in the PageGroup
plc 2024 Annual Report and Accounts, which will be available to shareholders
in April 2025.
OTHER FINANCIAL ITEMS
Taxation
The tax charge for the year was £20.7m (2023: £40.4m). This represented an
effective tax rate of 42.1% (2023: 34.4%). The rate is higher than the
effective UK rate for the calendar year of 25.0% (2023: 23.5%) principally due
to additional taxes on profits in overseas countries alongside non-recognition
of deferred tax assets in relation tax losses and other tax attributes. The
rate is higher than the prior year mainly due to the profit mix in the year
alongside reduced overall profitability meaning non-recognition of deferred
tax assets has a proportionally higher percentage impact in 2024.
In 2024, the tax rate was impacted primarily by additional taxes and differing
overseas tax rates of 6.9%, unrelieved overseas losses and derecognition of
losses and other tax attributes of 7.8%, other permanent differences of 2.5%
and prior year adjustments of 1.9%, offset against other tax movements (2.0%).
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 2024 the Group had 11.4m share options outstanding, of
which 6.1m had vested, but had not been exercised. During the year, options
were granted over 2.5m shares under the Group's share option plans. Options
were exercised over 0.1m shares, generating £0.5m in cash, and options lapsed
over 1.1m shares. At the end of 2024, options remained outstanding over 12.7m
shares, of which 5.3m had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2024,
2.8m shares were purchased by the Group's Employee Benefit Trust, and no
shares were cancelled (2023: 3.9m shares were purchased and no shares were
cancelled).
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS (KPIs)
KPI Definition, method of calculation and analysis
Financial
Gross profit growth How measured: Gross profit growth represents revenue less cost of sales
expressed as the percentage change over the prior year. It consists
principally of placement fees for permanent candidates and the margin earned
on the placement of temporary candidates.
Why it's important: This metric shows the income growth of the business. The
indicator is recorded in both constant and reported currency, as foreign
exchange movements in our international markets can impact it significantly.
How we performed in 2024: Gross profit decreased 12.8% in constant currencies
and 16.3% in reported rates against 2023. This was due to continued tough
trading conditions in 2024, which impacted client and candidate confidence.
Relevant strategic objective: Organic growth.
Ratio of gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements How measured: Gross profit earned from permanent and temporary placements,
expressed as percentage of the Group's total gross profit.
Why it's important: This ratio reflects both the current stage of the
economic cycle and our geographic spread, as a number of countries culturally
have minimal white collar temporary roles. It gives a guide as to the
operational gearing potential in the business, which is significantly greater
for permanent recruitment.
How we performed in 2024: 72% of our gross profit was generated from permanent
placements, marginally below the 73% in 2023. Reflecting the uncertain
macro-economic conditions, temporary recruitment (-10.0%) continued to
outperform permanent (-13.9%), as clients sought more flexible options.
Relevant strategic objective: Diversification.
Basic earnings per share (EPS) How measured: Profit for the year attributable to the Group's equity
shareholders, divided by the weighted average number of shares in issue during
the year.
Why it's important: This measures the underlying profitability of the Group
and the progress made against the prior year.
How we performed in 2024: The Group saw a 62.7% decrease in Basic EPS to
9.1p, due to the decline in operating profit from 2023.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Cash How measured: Cash and short-term deposits.
Why it's important: The level of cash reflects our cash generation and
conversion capabilities and our success in managing our working capital. It
determines our ability to reinvest in the business, to return cash to
shareholders and to ensure we remain financially robust through cycles.
How we performed in 2024: Cash increased to £95.3m (2023: £90.1m). The
year-on-year movement was reflective of strong cash generation from
operations, partially due to an unwind of working capital, offset by
dividends, capital expenditure and share plan hedging.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Strategic
Fee earner headcount growth How measured: Number of fee earners and directors involved in
revenue-generating activities at the year-end, expressed as the percentage
change compared to the prior year.
Why it's important: Growth in fee earners is a guide to our confidence in the
business and macro-economic outlook, as it reflects our expectations as to the
level of future demand for our services above the existing capacity currently
within the business.
How we performed in 2024: Net fee earner headcount decreased by 481, or 8.2%,
in the year, resulting in 5,370 fee earners at the end of the year. We saw
reductions across all regions, as the challenging trading conditions continued
in 2024.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Gross profit per fee earner How measured: Gross profit divided by the average number of fee-generating
staff, calculated on a rolling monthly average basis.
Why it's important: This is our indicator of productivity, which is affected
by levels of activity in the market, capacity within the business and the
number of recently hired fee earners who are not yet at full productivity.
Currency movements can also impact this figure.
How we performed in 2024: Productivity declined 1.7% in constant currencies to
£150.0k (2023: £159.0k). Whilst we experienced tough trading conditions in
2024, our action on fee earner headcount through the year, down 8.2%, meant
productivity stayed relatively flat on 2023 and at high levels for the
Group.
Relevant strategic objective: Organic growth.
Conversion rate How measured: Operating profit (EBIT) expressed as a percentage of gross
profit.
Why it's important: This reflects how successful the Group is at managing
business related costs, growing fee-earner productivity and the level of
investment being directed towards future growth.
How we performed in 2024: The Group's conversion rate for the year decreased
to 6.2% (2023: 11.8%). This was reflective of the tougher trading conditions
during the year, partly offset by the reduction in fee earner headcount.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Client net promoter score How measured: Client net promoter score is a metric used to measure customer
satisfaction and loyalty.
Why it's important: This score helps the Group gauge the quality of our
customer service, and allows us to benchmark against our competitors.
How we performed in 2024: The Group's net promoter score improved to 61 (2023:
56), in line with our strategic target. This highlights our commitment to
providing excellent service to our customers, further cementing our position
as a benchmark of quality in our industry.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
People
Employee engagement index How measured: A key output of the employee surveys undertaken periodically
within the business.
Why it's important: When there is a sustainable work environment and
motivated staff in the business, critical talent is retained and productivity
is enhanced.
How we performed in 2024: We recorded an 80% positive score for employee
engagement in the latest Employee Engagement Survey in 2024. This compares
with 85% in the last equivalent survey performed in 2023. However, our score
remains above the external industry benchmark* of 79%. The 2024 survey
included a combination of questions, including: how valued our people felt;
how proud they were to work for PageGroup; and how they can see their work
relates to PageGroup's purpose of changing lives.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
*Benchmark defined as the average score for all companies within the Perceptyx
database.
To become Net-zero across our full value chain by 2050 How measured: Direct and Indirect GHG emissions calculated in line with the
GHG Protocol.
Why it's important: In the emissions estimates, CO(2)e impact of our value
chain and operations are examined in absolute terms.
How we performed in 2024: Total GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) decreased by
16% to 54,047 tCO(2)e. Operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) reduced
by 23% to 1,955 tCO(2)e due in part to the continued transition of our offices
to renewable energy. Value chain emissions (Scope 3) decreased by 16% to
52,092 tCO(2)e , with reductions across all Scope 3 categories including
purchased goods and services.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Intensity values of GHG emissions How measured: Intensity levels of GHG emissions is measured by total emissions
per 1,000 people. For the Group, the most precise metric of activity levels is
headcount, which is not influenced by factors like fluctuations in foreign
exchange rates and business blend.
Why it's important: It helps to find the areas where emissions reduction
efforts have been successful, as GHG measurements are normalised in context
with the Group's changing business profile and especially movement in
headcount.
How we performed in 2024: Tonnes of CO(2)e per employee decreased by 8% to 7.3
Tonnes of CO(2)e per employee. The reduction in overall emissions decreased by
a greater amount than the reduction in headcount.
Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
The reporting boundaries and sources of data are comparable year-on-year.
Emissions reductions are due to a combination of actual reductions in carbon
emitting activities, improvements in data quality, changes to emissions
factors and updated methodology for calculating emissions from company cars.
The movements in KPIs are in line with expectations.
Nicholas Kirk Kelvin Stagg
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
5 March 2025 5 March 2025
Consolidated Income Statement
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
Note £'000 £'000
Revenue 3 1,738,937 2,010,303
Cost of sales (896,351) (1,003,171)
Gross profit 3 842,586 1,007,132
Administrative expenses (790,137) (888,317)
Operating profit 3 52,449 118,815
Financial income 4 2,170 2,236
Financial expenses 4 (5,492) (3,615)
Profit before tax 3 49,127 117,436
Income tax expense 5 (20,684) (40,368)
Profit for the year 28,443 77,068
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent 28,443 77,068
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share (pence) 8 9.1 24.4
Diluted earnings per share (pence) 8 9.0 24.3
The above results all relate to continuing operations
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Profit for the year 28,443 77,068
Other comprehensive income for the year
Items that may subsequently be reclassified to profit and loss:
Currency translation differences net of tax (10,101) (12,353)
Actuarial loss on retirement benefits (352) (1,735)
Deferred tax from actuarial loss on retirement benefits 88 435
Total comprehensive income for the year 18,078 63,415
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent 18,078 63,415
Consolidated Balance Sheet
As at 31 December 2024
2024 2023
Note £'000 £'000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 9 45,811 47,452
Right-of-use assets 120,711 98,386
Intangible assets - Goodwill and other intangible 1,738 1,859
- Computer software 21,916 30,239
Deferred tax assets 18,127 19,856
Other receivables 10 13,164 13,017
221,467 210,809
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 10 315,257 380,243
Current tax receivable 18,023 23,384
Cash and cash equivalents 12 95,348 90,138
428,628 493,765
Total assets 3 650,095 704,574
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 11 (229,460) (259,856)
Provisions (2,653) (4,298)
Lease liabilities (33,418) (31,746)
Current tax payable (3,189) (5,958)
(268,720) (301,858)
Net current assets 159,908 191,907
Non-current liabilities
Other payables 11 (10,426) (10,156)
Lease liabilities (103,372) (79,187)
Deferred tax liabilities (609) (2,342)
Provisions (4,559) (4,543)
(118,966) (96,228)
Total liabilities 3 (387,686) (398,086)
Net assets 262,409 306,488
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital 3,286 3,286
Share premium 99,564 99,564
Capital redemption reserve 932 932
Reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust (75,391) (66,813)
Currency translation reserve 9,162 19,985
Retained earnings 224,856 249,534
Total equity 262,409 306,488
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the year ended 31 December 2024
Reserve
for shares
held in the
employee
benefit trust
£'000
Called-up Capital Currency
share redemption translation
capital reserve reserve
£'000 £'000 £'000
Share Retained Total
premium earnings equity
£'000 £'000 £'000
Balance at 1 January 2023 3,286 99,564 932 (56,626) 32,338 272,709 352,203
Currency translation differences net of tax - - - - (12,353) - (12,353)
Actuarial loss on retirement benefits net of tax - - - - - (1,300) (1,300)
Net expense recognised directly in equity - - - - (12,353) (1,300) (13,653)
Profit for the year ended 31 December 2023 - - - - - 77,068 77,068
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the year - - - - (12,353) 75,768 63,415
Purchase of shares held in employee benefit trust - - - (17,529) - - (17,529)
Exercise of share plans - - - - - 1,946 1,946
Reserve transfer when shares held in the employee benefit trust vest - - - 7,342 - (7,342) -
Credit in respect of share schemes - - - - - 5,501 5,501
Credit in respect of tax on share schemes - - - - - 1,016 1,016
Dividends - - - - - (100,064) (100,064)
- - - (10,187) - (98,943) (109,130)
Balance at 31 December 2023 and 1 January 2024 3,286 99,564 932 (66,813) 19,985 249,534 306,488
Currency translation differences net of tax - - - - (10,823) 722 (10,101)
Actuarial loss on retirement benefits net of tax - - - - - (264) (264)
Net expense recognised directly in equity - - - - (10,823) 458 (10,365)
Profit for the year ended 31 December 2024 - - - - - 28,443 28,443
Total comprehensive (expense)/income for the year - - - - (10,823) 28,901 18,078
Purchase of shares held in employee benefit trust - - - (13,161) - - (13,161)
Exercise of share plans - - - - - 533 533
Reserve transfer when shares held in the employee benefit trust vest - - - 4,583 - (4,583) -
Credit in respect of share schemes - - - - - 2,520 2,520
Debit in respect of tax on share schemes - - - - - (45) (45)
Dividends - - - - - (52,004) (52,004)
- - - (8,578) - (53,579) (62,157)
Balance at 31 December 2024 3,286 99,564 932 (75,391) 9,162 224,856 262,409
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
For the year ended 31 December 2024
2024 2023
Note £'000 £'000
Profit before tax 49,127 117,436
Depreciation and amortisation charges 62,924 66,781
Loss on sale of property, plant and equipment, and computer software 1,053 819
Share scheme charges 2,687 5,501
Net finance costs 3,322 1,379
Operating cash flow before changes in working capital 119,113 191,916
Decrease in receivables 47,442 46,057
Decrease in payables (20,619) (26,002)
Cash generated from operations 145,936 211,971
Income tax paid (19,281) (58,963)
Net cash from operating activities 126,655 153,008
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant and equipment (15,662) (27,348)
Purchases of intangible assets (2,607) (4,033)
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment, and computer software 2,364 587
Interest received 2,170 2,236
Net cash used in investing activities (13,735) (28,558)
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid (52,004) (100,064)
Interest paid (833) (1,070)
Lease liability principal repayment (40,630) (40,045)
Proceeds from share option exercises 533 1,946
Purchase of shares into the employee benefit trust (13,161) (17,529)
Net cash used in financing activities (106,095) (156,762)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 6,825 (32,312)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 90,138 131,480
Exchange loss on cash and cash equivalents (1,615) (9,030)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 12 95,348 90,138
Notes to the consolidated preliminary results
For the year ended 31 December 2024
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 2024 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 2024 were approved by the Directors on 5 March 2025. The Annual
General Meeting of PageGroup plc will be held at the registered office, 200
Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2NX on 3 June 2025 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 Accounting Standards in conformity with the requirements of
Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and UK-adopted International Accounting
Standards (IFRSs), 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 2024 and are presented in UK Sterling and all values
are rounded to the nearest thousand (UK £'000), except when otherwise
indicated.
Going concern
The Board has undertaken a review of the Group's forecasts and associated
risks and sensitivities, in the period from the date of approval of the
financial statements to March 2026 (review period).
The Board considered a variety of downsides that the Group might experience,
such as a global downturn, a cyber-attack resulting in significant
reputational damage and loss of clients and candidates, and the Group's
business model becoming ineffective due to new innovations such as recruitment
using AI and technology. All modelled scenarios would be expected to impact
gross profit and headcount, impacting conversion.
The Group had £95.3m of cash as at 31 December 2024, with no debt except for
IFRS 16 lease liabilities of £136.8m. Debt facilities relevant to the review
period comprise a committed £80m RCF maturing December 2027, an uncommitted
UK trade debtor discounting facility (up to £50m depending on debtor levels)
and uncommitted bank overdraft facilities of £21m. Under these latest
forecasts, the Group is able to operate without the need to draw on its
available facilities. The forecast cash flows indicate that the Group will
comply with all relevant banking covenants during the review period.
Despite the macroeconomic and political uncertainty that currently exists, and
its inherent risk and impact on the business, based on the analysis performed
there are no plausible downside scenarios that the Board believes would cause
a liquidity issue.
Given the Group's fundamental strengths, the level of cash in the business and
the Group's borrowing facilities, the geographical and discipline
diversification, limited customer concentration risk, as well as the ability
to manage the cost base, the Board has concluded that the Group has adequate
resources to continue in operation, meet its liabilities as they fall due,
retain sufficient available cash and not breach the covenants under the RCF
for the foreseeable future, being a period of at least 12 months from the date
of the approval of the financial statements. The Board therefore considers it
appropriate for the Group to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its
financial statements.
Nature of financial information
The financial information contained within this preliminary announcement for
the 12 months to 31 December 2024 and 12 months to 31 December 2023 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 2023 have been filed with the
Registrar of Companies and those for the 12 months to 31 December 2024 will be
filed following the Company's Annual General Meeting.
The auditors' reports on the accounts for both the 12 months to 31 December
2024 and 12 months to 31 December 2023 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
2025.
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 2024.
The Group has not early adopted any standard, interpretation or amendment that
has been issued but is not yet effective that has had a material impact on the
financial statements.
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
Revenue Gross Profit
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
EMEA 946,755 1,117,150 462,450 549,511
Asia Pacific 231,842 284,821 126,455 159,636
Americas 279,825 311,653 149,181 173,312
United Kingdom 280,515 296,679 104,500 124,673
1,738,937 2,010,303 842,586 1,007,132
Operating Profit
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
EMEA 60,895 92,176
Asia Pacific (8,345) 11,613
Americas 6,949 17,749
United Kingdom (7,050) (2,723)
Operating profit 52,449 118,815
Financial expense (3,322) (1,379)
Profit before tax 49,127 117,436
The above analysis by destination is not materially different to the 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 assets.
(b) Segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets by
reportable segment
Total Assets Total Liabilities
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
EMEA 287,233 322,635 216,982 250,651
Asia Pacific 77,088 99,919 52,470 58,548
Americas 96,260 98,697 49,330 50,333
United Kingdom 171,491 159,939 65,715 32,596
Segment assets/liabilities 632,072 681,190 384,497 392,128
Income tax 18,023 23,384 3,189 5,958
650,095 704,574 387,686 398,086
Property, Plant & Equipment Intangible Assets
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
EMEA 16,607 16,101 1,889 2,044
Asia Pacific 4,295 5,269 13 37
Americas 6,710 5,947 9 3
United Kingdom 18,199 20,135 21,743 30,014
45,811 47,452 23,654 32,098
Right-of-use assets Lease liabilities
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
EMEA 74,027 70,907 78,025 76,867
Asia Pacific 9,980 12,486 16,728 16,854
Americas 11,538 7,989 13,269 10,257
United Kingdom 25,166 7,004 28,768 6,955
120,711 98,386 136,790 110,933
The below analyses in notes (c) and (d) relates to the requirement of IFRS 15
to disclose disaggregated revenue by streams and region.
(c) Revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and
temporary placements
Revenue Gross Profit
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Permanent 610,889 738,563 605,865 733,657
Temporary 1,128,048 1,271,740 236,721 273,475
1,738,937 2,010,303 842,586 1,007,132
(d) Revenue generated from permanent and temporary placements by
reportable segment
Permanent Temporary
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
EMEA 310,496 369,582 636,259 747,568
Asia Pacific 107,768 135,462 124,074 149,359
Americas 121,903 146,916 157,922 164,737
United Kingdom 70,722 86,603 209,793 210,076
610,889 738,563 1,128,048 1,271,740
The below analysis in note (e) revenue and gross profit by discipline (being
the professions of candidates placed) has been included as additional
disclosure over and above the requirements of IFRS 8 "Operating Segments".
(e) Revenue and gross profit by discipline
Revenue Gross Profit
2024 2023 2024 2023
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Accounting and Financial Services 656,048 720,927 280,564 332,282
Technology 278,896 360,392 107,152 138,069
Legal, HR, Secretarial and Other 267,805 315,811 135,858 163,308
Engineering, Property & Construction, Procurement & Supply Chain 379,407 427,850 208,932 242,897
Marketing, Sales and Retail 156,781 185,323 110,080 130,576
1,738,937 2,010,303 842,586 1,007,132
4. Financial income / (expenses)
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Financial income
Interest receivable 2,170 2,236
Financial expenses
Interest payable (834) (1,072)
Interest on lease liabilities (4,658) (2,543)
(5,492) (3,615)
5. Taxation
The tax charge for the year was £20.7m (2023: £40.4m). This represented an
effective tax rate of 42.1% (2023: 34.4%). The rate is higher than the
effective UK rate for the calendar year of 25.0% (2023: 23.5%) principally due
to additional taxes on profits in overseas countries alongside non-recognition
of deferred tax assets in relation tax losses and other tax attributes. The
rate is higher than the prior year mainly due to the profit mix in the year
alongside reduced overall profitability meaning non-recognition of deferred
tax assets has a proportionally higher percentage impact in 2024.
In 2024, the tax rate was impacted primarily by additional taxes and differing
overseas tax rates of 6.9%, unrelieved overseas losses and derecognition of
losses and other tax attributes of 7.8%, other permanent differences of 2.5%
and prior year adjustments of 1.9%, offset against other tax movements (2.0%).
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".
6. Dividends
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2023 of 11.24p per ordinary 35,211 33,889
share (2022: 10.76p)
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 of 5.36p per ordinary 16,793 16,166
share (2023: 5.13p)
Special dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 of 0p per ordinary share - 50,009
(2023: 15.87p)
52,004 100,064
Amounts proposed as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2024 of 11.75p per 36,803 35,449
ordinary share (2023: 11.24p)
The proposed final dividend had not been approved by the Board at 31 December
and therefore has not been included as a liability.
The proposed final dividend of 11.75p (2023: 11.24p) per ordinary share will
be paid on 23 June 2025 to shareholders on the register at the close of
business on 16 May 2025.
7. Share-based payments
In accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based Payment", a charge of £2.7m has been
recognised for share options and other share-based payment arrangements
(excluding social charges) (31 December 2023: £5.5m).
8. Earnings per ordinary share
The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the
following data:
Earnings 2024 2023
Earnings for basic and diluted earnings per share (£'000) 28,443 77,068
Number of shares
Weighted average number of shares used for basic earnings per share ('000) 314,038 315,784
Dilution effect of share plans ('000) 1,068 1,311
Diluted weighted average number of shares used for diluted earnings per share 315,106 317,095
('000)
Basic earnings per share (pence) 9.1 24.4
Diluted earnings per share (pence) 9.0 24.3
The above results relate to continuing operations.
9. Property, plant and equipment
Acquisitions and Disposals
During the year ended 31 December 2024 the Group acquired property, plant and
equipment with a cost of £15.7m (2023: £27.3m).
10. Trade and other receivables
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Current
Trade receivables 234,948 281,652
Less allowance for expected credit losses (11,660) (11,144)
Net trade receivables 223,288 270,508
Other receivables 8,404 10,187
Accrued income 68,716 83,426
Prepayments 14,849 16,122
315,257 380,243
Non-current
Other Receivables 13,164 13,017
11. Trade and other payables
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Current
Trade payables 15,110 8,383
Other tax and social security 47,555 61,557
Other payables 37,111 33,595
Accruals 129,684 156,321
229,460 259,856
Non-current
Other tax and social security 1,196 1,045
Accruals and other payables 9,230 9,111
10,426 10,156
12. Cash and cash equivalents
2024 2023
£'000 £'000
Cash at bank and in hand 95,348 90,138
Short-term deposits - -
Cash and cash equivalents 95,348 90,138
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash 95,348 90,138
flows
The Group operates multi-currency cash concentration and notional cash pools.
Through the cash concentration arrangement, cash is swept between the Group's
Treasury centre in the UK and subsidiaries from most of mainland Europe,
Mexico (USD only), Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan. The
multi-currency notional cash pool is held at the Treasury centre. In this way,
cash from 80% of the Group (by revenue) is managed at the Treasury centre. The
structures facilitate interest compensation of cash whilst supporting working
capital requirements.
PageGroup maintains a Confidential Invoice Facility with HSBC whereby the
Group has the option to discount invoices in order to advance cash on its
receivables. The facility is used only ad hoc in case the Group needs to fund
any major GBP cash outflow.
13. Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting of PageGroup plc will be held at 200 Dashwood Lang
Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2NX on 3 June 2025 at 9.30am.
14. Publication of Annual Report and Accounts
This preliminary statement is not being posted to shareholders. The Annual
Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders in due course and will be
delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Annual General Meeting
of the Company.
Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts can be downloaded from the Company's
website:
https://www.page.com/presentations/year/2025
(https://www.page.com/presentations/year/2025%0d)
Responsibility statement of the Directors on the annual
report
The responsibility statement below has been prepared in connection with the
Company's full annual report for the year ending 31 December 2024. Certain
parts of the annual report are not included within this announcement.
We confirm that, to the best of our knowledge:-
a) that the consolidated financial statements, prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted international accounting standards, give a true and fair view of
the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit of the Parent Company
and undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and
b) the management report, which is incorporated into the Directors' Report,
includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and
the position of the Company and the undertakings included in the consolidation
taken as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties they face.
On behalf of the Board
N Kirk K Stagg
Chief Executive Officer Chief Financial Officer
5 March 2025 5 March 2025
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