Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 Dec 2024

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 (excl. special dividend)	17.11p	16.37p
Total dividend per share  (incl. special dividend)	17.11p	32.24p

 

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

 

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

 

 

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.

 

 

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, CO2e 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 tCO2e. Operational emissions (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) reduced by 23% to 1,955 tCO2e due in part to the continued transition of our offices to renewable energy. Value chain emissions (Scope 3) decreased by 16% to 52,092 tCO2e , 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 CO2e per employee decreased by 8% to 7.3 Tonnes of CO2e 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