(Reuters) -British recruiter PageGroup issued its second profit warning in six months on Monday, pointing to worsening conditions especially in France and Germany and warning of further uncertainty in most of its main markets.
Shares of the FTSE 250 firm, which slumped almost 30% in 2024, fell 5% to 295.8 pence in early trading, their lowest level since May 2020.
The company now expects its annual adjusted operating profit to be at the lower end of market consensus of between 49 million pounds ($59.5 million) and 58.5 million pounds. It had earlier forecast earnings of 58 million pounds.
“Looking ahead, a high degree of macro-economic and geopolitical uncertainty remains across the majority of our markets, notably in France and Germany,” Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Kirk said.
France has endured a year of political upheaval while Germany is mired in an economic downturn and also faces a snap election. The two countries together make up more than a quarter of PageGroup’s earnings.
Lower unemployment and tighter client budgets have dented recruiters’ profits worldwide, with PageGroup saying salaries being offered by employers had fallen from levels seen in 2022 and early 2023.
PageGroup, which helps hire executives, professionals and clerical staff, reported a 13% drop in fourth-quarter gross profit to 196.7 million pounds.
Earnings in the United States rose 3% in the quarter, however, rebounding from an 11% decline in the prior three months.
“We note the swing back into positivity in the U.S. post election which may or may not presage a more sustained pick up in activity,” RBC Capital Markets analysts said in a note.
($1 = 0.8231 pounds)
(Reporting by Shashwat Awasthi and Prerna Bedi; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips, Kirsten Donovan)
