PageGroup hails record year as permanent recruitment recovers

Recruiter PageGroup hailed a record full year on Thursday following a recovery in permanent recruitment.

In the year to the end of December 2021, pre-tax profit surged to £166.6m from £15.5m the year before, with revenue up 26% at £1.6bn. Both gross profit and operating profit were a record, coming in at £877.7m and £168.5m. This was up from £610.2m and £17m, respectively, in 2020.

The company’s revenue mix between permanent and temporary placements was 42:58, with the recovery in 2021 driven by permanent recruitment.

Chief executive Steve Ingham said: "We have a resilient highly diversified business model, with focus on High Potential disciplines such as Technology and Healthcare & Life Sciences delivering robust results during the pandemic and in the recovery. Our Large, High Potential geographic markets all delivered a record year in 2021, up 60%, collectively, now representing 38% of the group.

"As we enter 2022, we are alert to the macro-economic uncertainties that exist. However, we have a flexible and highly diversified business model which allows us to adapt quickly to changing market conditions. We continue to grow our platform, invest carefully in headcount, and prioritise the roll out of new technologies. We are the clear leader in many of our markets, with a highly experienced senior management team, which positions us well to take advantage of opportunities to grow our business."

PageGroup proposed a final dividend of 10.30p, which together with the interim dividend of 4.70p and the special dividend of 26.7p, represents a total dividend of 41.71p. The company did not pay a dividend in 2020.

At 0940 GMT, the shares were down 3% at 539.50p.