Trading Statement

RNS Number : 3068T

Michael Page International PLC

05 December 2011

 



TRADING UPDATE

5 December 2011

On 10 October 2011, in our third quarter Interim Management Statement (IMS), we reported a slowing in our gross profit growth rates to 26.5% (21.8%*) against a backdrop of increasing levels of macroeconomic uncertainty. Since our IMS in October, markets have continued to weaken as  the Eurozone crisis and the lowering of GDP forecasts worldwide have reduced client and candidate confidence levels. This increased uncertainty and lower confidence is affecting most areas of our business and, as a result, our gross profit growth rates for the last two months have slowed further to 16.0% (15.5%*). As markets weaken and become more unpredictable, our short-term visibility reduces, particularly in respect of permanent placements. We now anticipate that our full year pre-tax profits for 2011 will be marginally below the bottom end of the current range of analyst forecasts (£86.5m to £114.2m).

The table below sets out the year-on-year growth rates by region for October and November combined compared to the third quarter of 2011.

Gross Profit Growth rates	Oct/Nov 2011			Q3 2011
	% of Group	Reported	Constant	Reported	Constant
Europe, Middle East and Africa	45%	+18.5%	+18.0%	+30.8%	+23.2%
United Kingdom	22%	+1.2%	+1.2%	+0.3%	+0.3%
Asia Pacific	19%	+25.6%	+21.3%	+44.0%	+35.2%
Americas	14%	+23.8%	+27.9%	+48.3%	+46.9%
Group	100%	+16.0%	+15.5%	+26.5%	+21.8%
Permanent placements	79%	+17.2%	+16.9%	+28.4%	+23.7%
Temporary placements	21%	+11.4%	+10.4%	+20.0%	+15.0%

We continue to react and manage the business as we have in previous periods of economic slowdowns, adjusting our headcount to reflect market conditions and continuing to invest where we have opportunities for longer term growth.

Our next trading update will be our fourth quarter and full year trading update on 11 January 2012.

Enquiries:

Michael Page International plc	01932 264144
Steve Ingham, Chief Executive
Stephen Puckett, Group Finance Director
FTI Consulting	020 7269 7291
Richard Mountain / Nick Hasell / Sophie Moate

The company will host a conference call for analysts and investors at 8.00am today.

The dial-in details for the conference call are as follows:

Dial-In:                        [phone]
PIN Code:                   184494
The recording of the call will be available on the company's website later today at:

http://investors.michaelpage.co.uk/presentations

Cautionary statement

This Trading Update has been prepared solely to provide additional information to shareholders to assess the Group's strategies and the potential for those strategies to succeed. The Trading Update should not be relied on by any other party or for any other purpose. This Trading Update 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.

This Trading Update has been prepared for the Group as a whole and therefore gives greater emphasis to those matters which are significant to Michael Page International plc and its subsidiary undertakings when viewed as a whole.

 

END

 

 

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