Prime People profits slip following Command acquisition

Recruitment firm Prime People revealed pre-tax profits dropped in its last financial year as a result of acquisition costs.

The AIM-listed firm posted a 375 lower pre-tax profit of £1.19m, despite its net fee income rising 0.38% to £13.15m.

Prime warned investors at the start of May that its operating profit would be reduced due to £102,000 worth of acquisition costs from its purchase of Command Recruitment, increased staff costs and its investment into its customer relationship management systems.

Prime left its final dividend unchanged at 3.25p.

Looking forward, Prime said it had continued to advance its overseas strategy into Asia and was expecting an increased contribution from the region in 2019.

Peter Moore, managing director of Prime People, said, "Current activity is encouraging across the group and we are confident the business is well positioned to exploit opportunities as they arise."

Basic earnings per share decreased 33.64% to 8.72p.

As of 1100 BST, Prime shares had dropped 4.90% to 80.36p.