Final Results Year Ended 31 December 2018

RNS Number : 9512R

PageGroup plc

06 March 2019

 

6 March 2019

 

Full Year Results for the Year Ended 31 December 2018

PageGroup plc ("PageGroup"), the specialist professional recruitment company, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2018.

Financial summary	2018	2017	Change	Change CC*
Revenue	£1,549.9m	£1,371.5m	+13.0%	+14.0%
Gross profit	£814.9m	£711.6m	+14.5%	+15.9%
Operating profit	£142.5m	£118.3m	+20.4%	+20.7%
Profit before tax	£142.3m	£118.2m	+20.4%
Basic earnings per share	32.5p	26.5p	+22.6%
Diluted earnings per share	32.4p	26.4p	+22.7%
Total dividend per share (excl. special dividend)	13.10p	12.50p	+4.8%
Total dividend per share (incl. special dividend)	25.83p	25.23p

HIGHLIGHTS*

·     Group gross profit up 15.9% to £814.9m, a record year for the Group

·     Operating profit up 20.7% to £142.5m

·     Conversion rate** up to 17.5% (2017: 16.6%)

·     EPS +22.6% to a record 32.5p

·     Record gross profit for 23 countries and all five Large, High Potential markets:

o  Germany +29%, Greater China +19%, Latin America +30%, South East Asia +23% and the US +25%

·     Net increase of 619 fee earners (+11.3%); total headcount at a record level of 7,772

·     Improvement in fee earner to support staff headcount ratio, now 79:21

·     Total ordinary dividend increased 4.8% to 13.1p

·     £40.8m special dividend paid in October of 12.73p per share

*At constant currency - all growth rates in constant currency at prior year rates unless otherwise stated

**Operating profit as a percentage of gross profit

Commenting on the results and the outlook, Steve Ingham, Chief Executive Officer of PageGroup, said:

"2018 was a record year for the Group and we delivered our best ever gross profit performance in each of our five Large, High Potential Markets.

"Gross profit increased 15.9%, operating profit was up 20.7%, and importantly, our conversion rate increased to 17.5%. This result was due to a combination of improved business performance and increased operational efficiencies, balanced by the level of investment, which has produced positive operational gearing. We delivered Earnings Per Share growth of 22.6% to 32.5 pence, a record for the Group.

"We have made further progress on our strategic transformation programmes, completing our network of regional shared service centres, three out of four of which are now on our new global finance system. We are also making good progress on the transformation of our business technology function, which will standardise our systems globally and move them into the Cloud. Our progress was illustrated by our fee earner to operational support staff ratio ending the year at a new record of 79:21.

"Today the Board has proposed a final dividend of 9.00 pence per share, an increase of 4.7% on 2017, subject to Shareholders' approval at the AGM. Combined with the interim dividend of 4.10 pence per share and the special dividend of 12.73 pence per share, this represents a total dividend yield of 5.7% at the year end share price.

"We are mindful of the macro-economic uncertainties that exist, but we will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, while continuing our strategic investments towards our Vision of 10,000 headcount, £1bn of gross profit and £200m - £250m of operating profit. Our flexible and diversified business model ensures that we are able to respond quickly to changes in market conditions."

Analyst meeting

The Company will be presenting to a meeting of analysts at 8.30am today at

FTI Consulting

200 Aldersgate

Aldersgate Street

London EC1A 4HD

If you are unable to attend in person, you can also follow the presentation on the following link:

https://www.investis-live.com/pagegroup/5c5da00fcad1ac0c009dfd39/tgfs

Please use the following dial-in numbers to join the conference:

United Kingdom (Local)          020 3936 2999

All other locations                    [phone]

Please quote the access code 49 27 03 to gain access to the call

The presentation and a recording of the meeting will be available on the Company's website later today at

http://www.page.com/investors/investor-library/2019.aspx

Enquiries:

PageGroup plc	01932 264446
Steve Ingham, Chief Executive Officer
Kelvin Stagg, Chief Financial Officer
FTI Consulting	020 3727 1340
Richard Mountain/Susanne Yule

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

At PageGroup we have a clear strategic vision. We aim to be the leading specialist recruiter in each of the markets in which we operate. We have sought to achieve this by developing a significant market presence in major global economies, as well as targeting new markets where we see the greatest potential for long-term gross profit growth at attractive conversion rates. 

We offer our services across a broad range of disciplines and specialisms, solely within the professional recruitment market. Our origins are in permanent recruitment, but a quarter of our gross profit is in temporary placements, where local culture and market conditions allow. In particular, we focus on opportunities where our industry and market expertise can set us apart from our competition. This enables us to offer a premium service that is valued by clients and attracts the highest calibre of candidates.

Our mix of permanent to temporary recruitment reflects the balance of our business mix, both in terms of brands, where Michael Page, our largest brand, operating at higher salary levels, has a naturally higher level of permanent recruitment, as well as our geographic mix. We are market leaders in regions such as Latin America, Greater China and South East Asia, where for cultural reasons, white collar temporary recruitment has only recently emerged.

PageGroup is focused on delivering against three key objectives to achieve its strategic vision and provide sustainable financial returns. These are: 1) to look for organic, high margin and diversified growth; 2) to position the business to be efficiently scalable and highly flexible to reflect market conditions; and 3) as a people-oriented, organically driven business, to nurture and develop talent and skills which are fundamental to us achieving long-term sustainable growth.

We therefore invest significantly in our people, as the recruitment, retention and development of the best talent available is central to our ability to grow the business and to manage our resources through economic cycles. Investment in the business has been focused on developing the long-term sustainability of the business and is supported by significant balance sheet strength and cash flow generation. 

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 experienced 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 42 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 represented by our four key brands of Page Executive, Michael Page, Page Personnel and Page Outsourcing.

Diversification by region and discipline

Our strategy is to expand and diversify the Group by industry sectors, professional disciplines, geography and level of focus, be it Page Executive, Michael Page, Page Personnel or Page Outsourcing, with the objective of being the leading specialist recruitment consultancy in each of our chosen markets.

As recruitment is a cyclical business, impacted significantly by the strength of economies, diversification is an important element of our strategy as it reduces our dependency on individual businesses or markets, thereby increasing the resilience of the Group. This strategy is pursued entirely through the organic growth of existing and new teams, offices, disciplines and countries, maintaining a consistent team and meritocratic culture as we grow.

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 to find 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 internal 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.

Sustainable growth

When we invest in a new business, be it a new country, a new office or a new discipline, we do so for the long term. Our organic and team-based business model allows us to grow strongly when market conditions are favourable, enabling us to increase our fee earner headcount investment rapidly. Conversely, downturns in the general economy of a country or in specific industries will inevitably have a knock-on effect on the recruitment market. However, it has been our practice in the past, and remains our intention, to maintain our presence in our chosen markets through these downturns, while closely controlling our cost base. In this way, we are able to retain our highly capable management teams in whom we have invested. 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.

Our strategic priorities comprise the following:

·     increase the scale and diversification of PageGroup by organically growing existing and new teams, offices, disciplines, brands and countries;

·     manage the business with a team and meritocratic culture, while delivering a consistent and high quality client and candidate experience;

·     invest through cycles in our Large, High Potential markets of Germany, Greater China, Latin America, South East Asia and the US to achieve scale and a market leading position;

·     manage our fee earner headcount in all other markets to reflect prevailing market conditions, by adding selectively to geographies and disciplines where there is positive growth momentum, while reducing headcount where the outlook for growth or fee earner productivity is weak;

·     focus on operational support consistency; and

·     focus on succession planning and international career paths to encourage retention and development of key staff.

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 2018 Annual Report and Accounts, which will be available to shareholders in April 2019.

GROUP RESULTS  

GROSS PROFIT		Reported			CC
Year-on-year	% of Group	2018 (£m)	2017 (£m)	%	%
EMEA	48%	394.3	332.3	+18.7%	+17.9%
Asia Pacific	20%	161.2	137.2	+17.5%	+20.6%
UK	17%	138.4	140.8	-1.7%	-1.7%
Americas	15%	121.0	101.3	+19.4%	+27.2%
Total	100%	814.9	711.6	+14.5%	+15.9%
Permanent	76%	621.7	536.0	+16.0%	+17.7%
Temporary	24%	193.2	175.6	+10.0%	+10.4%

At constant exchange rates, the Group's revenue increased 14.0% and gross profit increased 15.9% for the year ended 31 December 2018. At reported rates, revenue increased 13.0% to £1,549.9m (2017: £1,371.5m) and gross profit increased 14.5% to £814.9m (2017: £711.6m).

The Group's revenue mix between temporary and permanent placements was 59:41 (2017: 60:40) and for gross profit our permanent to temporary ratio was 76:24 (2017: 75:25).  Revenue from temporary placements comprises the salaries of those placed, together with the margin charged. This margin on temporary placements decreased slightly to 21.0% in 2018 (2017: 21.2%). Overall, pricing remained relatively stable across all regions, although a stronger pricing environment was experienced in markets and disciplines where there were increased instances of candidate shortages.

Our Large, High Potential markets' category increased gross profit by 25% in constant currencies and achieved a record gross profit of £270.3m. All five markets included within this category achieved record gross profit.

Total Group headcount increased by 743 in the year, up 10.6% to a record 7,772. This comprised a net increase of 619 fee earners (+11.3%) and an increase of 124 operational support staff (+8.1%), reflecting the continued strong focus on operational efficiency. The ratio of net additions in the year was 83 fee earners to 17 operational support staff. As a result, our fee earner to operational support staff ratio improved to a new record level of 79:21. In total, administrative expenses increased 13.3% to £672.4m (2017: £593.2m). The Group's operating profit from trading activities totalled £142.5m (2017: £118.3m), an increase of 20.7% at constant rates and 20.4% in reported rates. 

The Group's conversion rate of gross profit to operating profit from trading activities increased to 17.5% (2017: 16.6%). This reflected a combination of steadily improving conditions in a number of markets, as well as the benefits from our recent investment to drive operational efficiencies. These were offset in part by more challenging conditions in markets such as the UK, as well as our continued investment in fee earner headcount.

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.

The combination of gross profit growth and the ongoing focus on cost control resulted in operating profit of £142.5m (2017: £118.3m), an increase of 20.4% in reported rates and 20.7% in constant currencies.

Depreciation and amortisation for the year totalled £19.7m (2017: £19.1m). This included amortisation relating to our operating system, PRS, of £6.9m (2017: £8.1m).    

We have completed our transition to a shared service centre delivery model, and also now have around half of the Group, by fee earners, live on our new Global Finance System. We are continuing with the transition of our Business Technology function to a global model, closing data centres and transitioning to the Cloud. These strategic investments have driven an improvement in both our fee earner to operational support staff ratio and our conversion rate.

Our fee earner to operational support staff ratio improved to a record level of 79:21, with our ongoing focus on conversion rates and maximising productivity from the investment of 786 fee earners added in 2017, as well as the further 619 added in 2018. Net additions in the year were at a ratio of 83 fee earners to 17 operational support staff.

The Group's conversion rate for the year of 17.5% was an improvement from 16.6% in 2017. This was achieved alongside the Group's investment programme, which was focused in particular on our Large, High Potential markets, and despite the tough market conditions faced in some of the Group's markets such as the UK, as well as our operational support programmes.

In EMEA, conversion increased from 21.0% to 21.7%. This was driven by the benefits of operational gearing coming through. In the UK, the conversion rate fell from 11.4% to 9.7%, in line with the tough trading conditions. In Asia Pacific, conversion fell slightly to 16.6% (2017: 17.1%), due to our high level of fee earner investment in the region. The Americas' conversion rate increased from 9.0% to 13.8% in line with our increased growth rate throughout the region.

The Group was adversely impacted by movements in foreign exchange rates, as Sterling strengthened marginally against a number of currencies in which the Group operates. The strengthening of Sterling decreased the Group's revenue and gross profit by £14m and £10m respectively, with a negligible impact on operating profit.

A net interest charge of £0.2m reflected the continuing low interest rate environment. Interest of £0.6m was received on cash balances held through the year, offset by financial charges relating to the Group's invoice discounting facility and overdrafts used to support local operations of £0.8m.

Earnings per share and dividends

In 2018, basic earnings per share increased 22.6% to 32.5p (2017: 26.5p), reflecting the improved business performance. Diluted earnings per share, which takes into account the dilutive effect of share options, was up 22.7% to 32.4p (2017: 26.4p).

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. We first use our cash to satisfy our operational and investment requirements and to hedge our liabilities under the Group's share plans. We then review our liquidity over and above this requirement to make returns to shareholders, firstly by way of ordinary dividend.

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 enables us to sustain the level of ordinary dividend payments during a downturn as well as to increase it during more prosperous times.

Cash generated in excess of these first two priorities will be returned to shareholders through supplementary returns, using special dividends or share buybacks.

In line with the improved growth rates and increase in operating profits, a final dividend of 9.00p (2017: 8.60p) per ordinary share is proposed. When taken together with the interim dividend of 4.10p (2017: 3.90p) per ordinary share, this would imply an increase in the total dividend for the year of 4.8% over 2017 to 13.1p per ordinary share.

The proposed final dividend, which amounts to £29.2m, will be paid on 17 June 2019 to shareholders on the register as at 17 May 2019, subject to shareholder approval at the Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2019.

After consultation with our shareholders, we also paid a special dividend of 12.73p per share (2017: 12.73p per share) on 10 October 2018, totalling £40.8m (2017: £40.1m). We will continue to monitor our cash position in 2019 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 £131.7m (2017: £124.5m) generated from operations. The closing net cash balance was £97.7m at 31 December 2018, broadly in line with the prior year. The movements in the Group's cash flow in 2018 reflected the underlying trading conditions, with a £37.7m increase in working capital.

The Group had a £50m invoice financing arrangement and £21m uncommitted overdraft facilities to support cash flows across its operations and ensure rapid access to funds should they be required. None of these were in use at the year end.

Income tax paid in the year was £41.0m (2017: £38.2m) and net capital expenditure in 2018 was £24.4m (2017: £16.2m). Spending on software increased from 2017 as we continued the roll-out of our new Global Finance System. Spending on property, plant and equipment increased, mainly due to the increase in our fee earner and operational support headcount.

Dividend payments were up on the prior year at £81.3m (2017: £78.3m), as a result of the increased ordinary and special dividends paid in 2018. There was also a significant increase in cash receipts from share option exercises. In 2018, £26.9m was received by the Group from the exercise of options compared to £12.7m received in 2017, driven by the higher share price. In 2018, £11.6m was also spent on the purchase of shares by the Employee Benefit Trust to satisfy future obligations under our employee share plans. No such purchase was made in 2017. 

The most significant item in our balance sheet was trade receivables, which amounted to £288.2m at 31 December 2018 (2017: £245.4m), comprising permanent fees invoiced and salaries and fees invoiced in the temporary placement business, but not yet paid. Day's sales in debtors at 31 December 2018 were 54 days (2017: 53 days).

EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST AND AFRICA (EMEA)

EMEA is the Group's largest region, contributing 48% 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.  Across the region, permanent placements accounted for 70% and temporary placements 30% of gross profit.

The region includes four of our Large, Proven markets, France, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands, across which there is a broad range of competition. EMEA also includes Germany, one of the Group's Large, High Potential markets, which has low penetration rates (markets where less than 30% of recruitment is outsourced) and significant growth potential, particularly in temporary recruitment. In addition, there are a number of markets such as Poland, Turkey and Africa, which are less developed, with limited competition, but are increasingly looking for professional recruitment services. The Middle East, where PageGroup is the largest international recruiter, has one of the Group's highest conversion rates.  

EMEA	£m		Growth rates
(48% of Group in 2018)	2018	2017	Reported	CC
Gross Profit	394.3	332.3	+18.7%	+17.9%
Operating Profit	85.6	69.7	+22.8%	+21.9%
Conversion Rate (%)	21.7%	21.0%

In 2018, the EMEA region saw strong market conditions, with 11 countries delivering record gross profit for the year. In constant currency, revenue increased 17.1% on 2017 and gross profit increased by 17.9%. In reported rates, revenue in the region was up 18.0% to £797.4m (2017: £676.0m), and gross profit increased 18.7% to £394.3m (2017: £332.3m). The region benefited from favourable foreign exchange movements which increased revenue and gross profit by £6m and £2m, respectively.

Our largest businesses in the region, France and Germany, together representing nearly half of the region by gross profit, grew 16% and 29% respectively, for the full year in constant currencies. Michael Page Interim in Germany, where we continue to invest heavily in temporary and contracting recruitment, grew 42%. Elsewhere we saw strong growth in Benelux of +19%, Italy +23% and Spain +8%, despite challenging trading conditions in Catalonia.   

The Middle East and Africa, which represented 4% of the region, saw a notable improvement compared to the prior year, with growth of 17% (2017: -1%).

The 22.8% increase in operating profit for 2018 to £85.6m (2017: £69.7m) and the increase in the conversion rate to 21.7% (2017: 21.0%) were the result of the benefit of operational gearing coming through, partially offset by significant investments in our Interim and contracting businesses, such as Germany, which have driven gross profit growth, but in the short-term impacted our conversion rate.

Headcount across the region increased by 303 (+10.1%) to 3,299 at the end of 2018 (2017: 2,996). The majority of this increase was fee earners, as the business added headcount where growth opportunities were strongest, predominately in France and Germany. 

ASIA PACIFIC

Asia Pacific represented 20% of the Group's gross profit in 2018, with 75% of the region being Asia and 25% Australasia.  Other than in the financial centres of Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo, the Asian market is generally highly under-developed, and offers attractive opportunities in both international and domestic markets at good conversion rates.  Two of our Large, High Potential Markets, Greater China and South East Asia, are in this region. With a highly experienced management team, over 1,300 staff and limited competition, the size of the opportunity in Asia is significant. Across Asia, driven by cultural attitudes towards white collar temporary recruitment, permanent placements accounted for 95% and temporary placements 5% of gross profit.  

Australasia is a mature, well-developed and highly competitive recruitment market. PageGroup has a meaningful presence in permanent recruitment in the majority of the professional disciplines and major cities in Australia and New Zealand. Page Personnel has a growing presence and significant potential to expand and grow market share.

ASIA PACIFIC	£m		Growth rates
(20% of Group in 2018)	2018	2017	Reported	CC
Gross Profit	161.2	137.2	+17.5%	+20.6%
Operating Profit	26.8	23.5	+13.8%	+16.6%
Conversion Rate (%)	16.6%	17.1%

In Asia Pacific, in constant currencies, revenue increased 16.6% and gross profit increased by 20.6%. In reported rates, revenue increased 12.9% to £266.7m (2017: £236.3m), while gross profit rose 17.5% to £161.2m (2017: £137.2m). The region was adversely impacted by foreign exchange movements, which reduced reported revenue and gross profit by £9m and £4m, respectively.

Asia, representing 15% of the Group, delivered gross profit growth of 23%. Greater China delivered a record year, up 19% (2017: +14%) with strong growth throughout. In Hong Kong, where we have a large number of multinational clients, we saw an improvement in market conditions and delivered growth of 23%. However, Mainland China experienced more challenging trading conditions in the fourth quarter, driven by trade tariff uncertainty. South East Asia was up 23% on the prior year, with a strong performance in Singapore, up 29%. We also opened in Vietnam during the year, giving us our fifth country in South East Asia. India, where we now have over 120 fee earners, delivered a record year with growth of 49%. Japan, where we invested heavily in fee earners, saw growth of 30% and delivered a record year. In Australia, following our investment in fee earners and a new office in Canberra, we delivered growth of 14%.

Operating profit rose 13.8% to £26.8m (2017: £23.5m), with the conversion rate marginally down at 16.6% (2017: 17.1%), due to our fee earner investment in the region. Headcount across the region rose by 177 (11.6%) in the year, ending the year at 1,709 (2017: 1,532). The majority of these headcount additions were in Asia, particularly Greater China, India and Japan.

UNITED KINGDOM

The UK represented 17% of the Group's gross profit in 2018, operating from 27 offices covering all major cities. 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 69% and temporary placements 31% of gross profit.

The UK business operates under the four brands of Michael Page, Page Personnel, Page Executive and Page Outsourcing, with representation in 13 specialist disciplines via the Michael Page brand. There remains opportunity to roll-out new discipline businesses under the lower salary level Page Personnel brand, which now represents 25% of UK gross profit.

UK	£m
(17% of Group in 2018)	2018	2017	Growth rate
Gross Profit	138.4	140.8	-1.7%
Operating Profit	13.4	16.0	-16.2%
Conversion Rate (%)	9.7%	11.4%

In the UK, revenue increased 0.2% to £313.5m (2017: £312.9m), whereas gross profit declined 1.7% to £138.4m (2017: £140.8m), reflecting continued economic uncertainty. 

The UK experienced challenging market conditions throughout the year due to continued Brexit uncertainty impacting candidate and client confidence. Page Personnel, which represents a quarter of the UK, grew 8% and delivered a record year. Michael Page, which is focused on more senior opportunities and was impacted to a greater extent by the uncertainty, declined -4%. These challenging market conditions resulted in a decline in operating profit of 16.2% to £13.4m (2017: £16.0m) and a reduction in the conversion rate to 9.7% (2017: 11.4%).

Headcount marginally increased to 1,436 at the end of December 2018 (2017: 1,407). The additions were in operational support, to deliver the Group's operational support strategic transformation programmes, with our fee earner headcount broadly flat in the year.  With a relatively high staff turnover of newer, less experienced consultants, we will continue to monitor activity and will, if needed, use that turnover to lower headcount, and therefore costs, by natural attrition.

THE AMERICAS

The Americas represented 15% of the Group's gross profit in 2018, being North America (58% of the region) and Latin America (42% of the region). The US and Latin America are two of the Large, High Potential Markets in our growth strategy. The US, where we have eight offices, has a well-developed recruitment industry, but in many disciplines, especially technical, there is limited national competition of any scale.  PageGroup's breadth of professional specialisms and geographic reach is uncommon and provides a competitive advantage. Latin America is a very under-developed region, where PageGroup enjoys the market leading position with over 800 employees in six countries and 13 offices. There are few international competitors and none with regional scale.  Across Latin America, permanent placements accounted for 93% of gross profit and temporary placements 7%.

AMERICAS	£m		Growth rates
(15% of Group in 2018)	2018	2017	Reported	CC
Gross Profit	121.0	101.3	+19.4%	+27.2%
Operating Profit	16.7	9.2	+82.7%	+87.3%
Conversion Rate (%)	13.8%	9.0%

In constant currencies, revenue increased by 25.5% and gross profit increased by 27.2%. In reported rates, revenue increased by 17.7% to £172.3m (2017: £146.3m) while gross profit improved 19.4% to £121.0m (2017: £101.3m). During the year, the region was impacted by adverse foreign exchange movements that decreased revenue and gross profit by £11m and £8m, respectively.

In North America, our gross profit increased by 25% in constant currencies with both the US and Canada delivering record years. In the US, which grew 25%, our strategy of diversification continued, with particularly strong performances from our regional offices of Boston, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. We increased our US fee earner headcount by 15% compared to last year, as we continued to invest in this Large, High Potential market.

In Latin America, gross profit was up 30% year-on-year in constant currencies. We added nearly 150 fee earners in the year, an increase of 30%, as we continued to invest in this Large, High Potential market. Our business in Brazil delivered growth of 20%, with Mexico, our largest country in Latin America, delivering a record year, with growth of 33%.  Elsewhere, the other four countries in the region, with a fee earner headcount of over 250, saw growth of 36% collectively, and all delivered record years.

Operating profit increased 82.7% to £16.7m (2017: £9.2m), with a conversion rate of 13.8% (2017: 9.0%). Headcount increased by 234 (+21.4%) in 2018 to 1,328 (2017: 1,094).

OTHER FINANCIAL ITEMS

Foreign exchange

Foreign exchange had an adverse impact on our reported results for the year, decreasing gross profit by £10m, administrative expenses by £10m and therefore no impact on operating profit. This impact was mainly within the Americas and Asia Pacific regions, partially offset by a favourable impact in EMEA.

Taxation

The tax charge for the year was £38.6m (2017: £35.1m).  This represented an effective tax rate of 27.1% (2017: 29.7%). The rate is higher than the effective UK rate for the calendar year of 19% (2017: 19.25%) principally due to the impact of higher tax rates in overseas countries and to a lesser extent disallowable expenditure. There are some countries in which the tax rate is lower than the UK, but the impact is very small either because the countries are not significant contributors to Group profit or the tax rate difference is not significant.

The effective rate in 2017 was impacted principally by the US tax reform which reduced the headline rate of tax from 35% to 21% from 1 January 2018.  This resulted in a write down of US deferred tax assets which, together with other adjustments in the US, increased the tax charge by 2.4%.  In 2018, the tax rate was impacted primarily by tax on share based payments (1.2% decrease) and the recognition/derecognition of losses (0.6% increase).

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 2018 the Group had 15.5m share options outstanding, of which 8.6m had vested, but had not been exercised. During the year, options were granted over 1.7m shares under the Group's share option plans. Options were exercised over 6.1m shares, generating £26.9m in cash, and options lapsed over 0.5m shares. At the end of 2018, options remained outstanding over 10.6m shares, of which 4.3m had vested, but had not been exercised. During 2018, 2.2m shares were purchased for the Group's Employee Benefit Trust, and no shares were cancelled (2017: no shares were purchased or 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 indicates the degree of income growth in the business. It can be impacted significantly by foreign exchange movements in our international markets. Consequently, we look at both reported and constant currency metrics. How we performed in 2018: Gross profit increased 14.5% in reported rates, 15.9% in constant currencies, as adverse currency movements impacted the full-year figures. Relevant strategic objective: Organic growth
Gross profit diversification	How measured: Total gross profit from: a) geographic regions outside the UK; and b) disciplines outside of Accounting & Financial Services, each expressed as a percentage of total gross profit. Why it's important: These percentages give an indication of how the business has diversified its revenue streams away from its historic concentrations in the UK and from the Accounting & Financial Services disciplines. How we performed in 2018: Geographies: the percentage increased to 83.0% from 80.2% in 2017, demonstrating a high degree of diversification. This reflects strong trading conditions in the majority of our overseas businesses. Disciplines: the percentage increased to 65.3% (2017: 63.3%), as our professional services disciplines performed strongly, combined with good growth in our technical disciplines, comprising Property & Construction, Procurement & Supply Chain and Engineering. Relevant strategic objective: Diversification
Ratio of gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements	How measured: Gross profit from each type of placement expressed as a percentage of 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 temporary placements. It gives a guide as to the operational gearing potential in the business, which is significantly greater for permanent recruitment. How we performed in 2018: The ratio increased slightly to 76:24 (2017: 75:25), with strong growth in markets where we have a higher ratio of permanent recruitment such as Asia and Latin America. 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 2018: The Group saw a 22.6% rise in Basic EPS to 32.5p. Improvements in trading and operational efficiencies drove strong growth in the Group's EPS in 2018. Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth
Net cash	How measured: Cash and short-term deposits less bank overdrafts and loans. Why it's important: The level of net 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 2018: Net cash increased to £97.7m (2017: £95.6m). This was after dividend payments of £81.3m (including a special dividend of £40.8m). 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 2018: Fee earner headcount grew by 619, or 11.3% in the year, resulting in 6,116 fee earners at the end of the year, a record for the Group. 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 2018: In constant currency, it increased slightly to £140.0k (2017: £139.9k) as a result of the improved trading conditions. However, in reported rates, this decreased to £138.3k.  Relevant strategic objective: Organic growth
Fee earner: support staff headcount ratio	How measured: The percentage of fee earners compared to operational support staff at the year end, expressed as a ratio. Why it's important: This reflects the operational efficiency in the business in terms of our ability to grow the revenue-generating platform at a faster rate than the staff needed to support this growth. How we performed in 2018: The ratio improved to a new record of 79:21 from 78:22 in 2017. This was driven by 11.3% fee earner headcount growth, as well as benefiting from our operational support initiatives. The ratio of new joiners in the year was 83:17. Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth
Conversion rate	How measured: Operating profit (EBIT) before exceptional items expressed as a percentage of gross profit. Why it's important: This reflects the level of fee-earner productivity and the Group's effectiveness at cost control in the business, together with the degree of investment being made for future growth. How we performed in 2018: The Group's conversion rate increased to 17.5% (2017: 16.6%), with a combination of steadily improving conditions in a number of markets and the benefits of operational efficiencies, offset by sustained investment in our fee earner headcount. 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: A positive working environment and motivated team helps productivity and encourages retention of key talent within the business. How we performed in 2018: We recorded an 83% positive score for employee engagement in the latest Employee Survey in 2017. This was a combination of questions, including: how valued our people felt; how proud they were to work for PageGroup; and the level of trust and recognition they received for their work. No survey was performed in 2018 and the next one is planned for 2019. Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth
Management experience	How measured: Average tenure of front-office management measured as years of service for directors and above. Why it's important: Experience through the economic cycle and across both geographies and disciplines is critical for an organic cyclical business operating across the globe. Our organic business model relies on an experienced management pool to enable flexibility in resourcing and senior management succession planning. How we performed in 2018: The average tenure of the Group's management increased from 11.9 years to 12.0 years, with a particular increase in the Americas. Relevant strategic objective: Talent and Skills development
Total GHG emissions	How measured: Direct and Indirect GHG emissions calculated in line with the UK Government's 2018 DEFRA reporting standards. Principally based on data from a sample of our offices, covering 68% of the Group by headcount, and extrapolated for the Group as a whole. Why it's important: The emissions calculations look at the CO2e impact of our operations in absolute terms. How we performed in 2018: Direct GHG emissions relating to the combustion of fuel decreased by 4.3% to 1,882 tonnes CO2e, while Indirect GHG emissions, through the purchase of energy such as electricity, increased by 10.4% to 5,379 tonnes. Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.
Intensity values of GHG emissions	How measured: Intensity values for GHG emissions are based on property and vehicle energy-derived emissions per 1,000 headcount. Headcount is viewed as being the most representative metric for PageGroup's activity levels and is unaffected by issues such as business mix or foreign exchange variations. Why it's important: Intensity values help to normalise the GHG metrics and place them in the context of the Group's changing business profile, particularly in terms of increases in headcount. It helps to identify where progress has been made on emissions reduction. How we performed in 2018: Energy-derived emissions were reduced by 9.2% compared with 2017, largely due to an increase in headcount without a corresponding increase in the number of offices, along with changes in fuel sources and improvements in office energy efficiencies. Relevant strategic objective: Sustainable growth.

The source of data and calculation methods year-on-year are on a consistent basis, including changes resulting from the use of 2018 DEFRA conversion factors. The movements in KPIs are in line with expectations.

Steve Ingham	Kelvin Stagg
Chief Executive Officer	Chief Financial Officer
5 March 2019

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 31 December 2018

			2018		2017
	Note		£'000		£'000
Revenue	3		1,549,941		1,371,534
Cost of sales			(735,039)		(659,966)
Gross profit	3		814,902		711,568
Administrative expenses			(672,439)		(593,246)
Operating profit	3		142,463		118,322
Financial income	4		631		229
Financial expenses	4		(819)		(389)
Profit before tax	3		142,275		118,162
Income tax expense	5		(38,572)		(35,082)
Profit for the year			103,703		83,080
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent			103,703		83,080
Earnings per share
Basic earnings per share (pence)	8		32.5		26.5
Diluted earnings per share (pence)	8		32.4		26.4

The above results all relate to continuing operations

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 31 December 2018

						2018		2017
						£'000		£'000
Profit for the year						103,703		83,080
Other comprehensive income/(loss) for the year
Items that may subsequently be reclassified to profit and loss:
Currency translation differences						4,359		(2,888)
(Loss) / gain on hedging instruments						(988)		1,340
Total comprehensive income for the year						107,074		81,532
Attributable to:
Owners of the parent						107,074		81,532

 

Consolidated Balance Sheet

As at 31 December 2018

			2018		2017
	Note		£'000		£'000
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment	9		35,564		30,158
Intangible assets - Goodwill and other intangibles			2,019		1,685
- Computer software			31,377		32,473
Deferred tax assets			17,487		14,637
Other receivables	10		12,746		10,513
			99,193		89,466
Current assets
Trade and other receivables	10		349,111		299,089
Current tax receivable			17,206		15,652
Cash and cash equivalents	12		97,673		95,605
			463,990		410,346
Total assets	3		563,183		499,812
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables	11		(204,353)		(187,730)
Current tax payable			(20,145)		(22,166)
			(224,498)		(209,896)
Net current assets			239,492		200,450
Non-current liabilities
Other payables	11		(19,474)		(19,489)
Deferred tax liabilities			(630)		(370)
			(20,104)		(19,859)
Total liabilities	3		(244,602)		(229,755)
Net assets			318,581		270,057
Capital and reserves
Called-up share capital			3,284		3,268
Share premium			98,502		92,677
Capital redemption reserve			932		932
Reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust			(50,673)		(58,931)
Currency translation reserve			34,217		29,858
Retained earnings			232,319		202,253
Total equity			318,581		270,057

 

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 31 December 2018

									Reserve
									for shares
			Called-up				Capital		held in the		Currency
			share		Share		redemption		employee		translation		Retained		Total
			capital		premium		reserve		benefit trust		reserve		earnings		equity
			£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000
Balance at 1 January 2017			3,259		90,458		932		(72,941)		32,746		192,107		246,561
Currency translation differences			-		-		-		-		(2,888)		-		(2,888)
Net loss recognised directly in equity			-		-		-		-		(2,888)		-		(2,888)
Profit on hedging instruments			-		-		-		-		-		1,340		1,340
Profit for the year ended 31 December 2017			-		-		-		-		-		83,080		83,080
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the year			-		-		-		-		(2,888)		84,420		81,532
Exercise of share plans			9		2,219		-		-		-		10,458		12,686
Transfer from reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust			-		-		-		14,010		-		(14,010)		-
Credit in respect of share schemes			-		-		-		-		-		6,809		6,809
Credit in respect of tax on share schemes			-		-		-		-		-		720		720
Dividends			-		-		-		-		-		(78,251)		(78,251)
			9		2,219		-		14,010		-		(74,274)		(58,036)
Balance at 31 December 2017 and 1 January 2018			3,268		92,677		932		(58,931)		29,858		202,253		270,057
Currency translation differences			-		-		-		-		4,359		-		4,359
Net income recognised directly in equity			-		-		-		-		4,359		-		4,359
Loss on hedging instruments			-		-		-		-		-		(988)		(988)
Profit for the year ended 31 December 2018			-		-		-		-		-		103,703		103,703
Total comprehensive income for the year			-		-		-		-		4,359		102,715		107,074
Purchase of shares held in employee benefit trust			-		-		-		(11,567)		-		-		(11,567)
Exercise of share plans			16		5,825		-		-		-		21,072		26,913
Transfer from reserve for shares held in the employee benefit trust			-		-		-		19,825		-		(19,825)		-
Credit in respect of share schemes			-		-		-		-		-		7,048		7,048
Credit in respect of tax on share schemes			-		-		-		-		-		368		368
Dividends			-		-		-		-		-		(81,312)		(81,312)
			16		5,825		-		8,258		-		(72,649)		(58,550)
Balance at 31 December 2018			3,284		98,502		932		(50,673)		34,217		232,319		318,581

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows                      

For the year ended 31 December 2018                           

					2018		2017
			Note		£'000		£'000
Profit before tax					142,275		118,162
Depreciation and amortisation charges					19,661		19,094
Loss/(Income) on sale of property, plant and equipment and computer software					281		(159)
Share scheme charges					7,043		6,796
Net finance costs					181		160
Operating cash flow before changes in working capital					169,441		144,053
Increase in receivables					(49,278)		(42,629)
Increase in payables					11,534		23,040
Cash generated from operations					131,697		124,464
Income tax paid					(41,001)		(38,154)
Net cash from operating activities					90,696		86,310
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchases of property, plant and equipment					(15,668)		(13,415)
Purchases and capitalisation of intangible assets					(9,944)		(7,508)
Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipment, and computer software					1,204		4,688
Interest received					631		229
Net cash used in investing activities					(23,777)		(16,006)
Cash flows from financing activities
Dividends paid					(81,312)		(78,251)
Interest paid					(818)		(1,845)
Issue of own shares for the exercise of options					26,913		12,686
Purchase of shares into the employee benefit trust					(11,567)		-
Net cash used in financing activities					(66,784)		(67,410)
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents					135		2,894
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year					95,605		92,796
Exchange gain/(loss) on cash and cash equivalents					1,933		(85)
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year			12		97,673		95,605

 

Notes to the consolidated preliminary results

For the year ended 31 December 2018

1.         Corporate information

PageGroup plc (the "Company") is a limited liability company incorporated in Great Britain and domiciled within the United Kingdom whose shares are publicly traded.  The consolidated preliminary results of the Company as at and for the year ended 31 December 2018 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together referred to as the "Group").

The consolidated preliminary results of the Group for the year ended 31 December 2018 were approved by the directors on 5 March 2019. The Annual General Meeting of PageGroup plc will be held at the registered office, Page House, The Bourne Business Park, 1 Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 2QW on 24 May 2019 at 9.30am.

2.         Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

Whilst the information included in this preliminary announcement has been prepared in accordance with the recognition and measurement criteria of International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs") as adopted for use in the European Union and as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs.

The consolidated financial statements comprise the financial statements of the Group as at 31 December 2018 and are presented in UK Sterling and all values are rounded to the nearest thousand (UK £'000), except when otherwise indicated.

Going concern

The Group's business activities, together with the factors likely to affect its future development, performance and position are set out in the Management Report. The Management Report also includes a summary of the Group's financial position, its cash flows and its borrowing facilities.

The directors believe the Group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully. The Group's forecasts and projections, taking account of reasonably possible changes in trading performance, show that the Group should be able to operate within the level of its current committed facilities.

After making enquiries, the directors have a reasonable expectation that the Company and the Group have adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, a period of not less than 12 months from the date of this report. Accordingly, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the Annual Report and Accounts.

Nature of financial information

The financial information contained within this preliminary announcement for the 12 months to 31 December 2018 and 12 months to 31 December 2017 do not comprise statutory financial statements for the purpose of the Companies Act 2006, but are derived from those statements. The statutory accounts for PageGroup plc for the 12 months to 31 December 2017 have been filed with the Registrar of Companies and those for the 12 months to 31 December 2018 will be filed following the Company's Annual General Meeting.

The auditor's reports on the accounts for both the 12 months to 31 December 2018 and 12 months to 31 December 2017 were unqualified and did not include a statement under Section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Annual Report and Accounts will be available for Shareholders in April 2019.

New accounting standards, interpretations and amendments adopted by the Group

The accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the consolidated preliminary results are consistent with those followed in the preparation of the Group's annual consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2018.

During the year the Group completed the transition to "IFRS 15 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers" and IFRS 9 - Financial Instruments". No adjustment was required for the transition to either standard.

We are continuing with our review and implementation of "IFRS 16 - Leases". The potential impact on our accounts of this Standard is disclosed in our Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 December 2018.

The Group has not early adopted any standard, interpretation or amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective.

3.    Segment reporting

All revenues disclosed are derived from external customers.

The accounting policies of the reportable segments are the same as the Group's accounting policies. Segment operating profit represents the profit earned by each segment including allocation of central administration costs. This is the measure reported to the Group's Board, the chief operating decision maker, for the purpose of resource allocation and assessment of segment performance. Segments are aggregated in accordance with management ownership, determined by the possession of similar characteristics such as geography, market maturity and economic environment. No judgements were applied to identify the reportable segments.

(a)   Revenue, gross profit and operating profit by reportable segment

				Revenue					Gross Profit
				2018			2017		2018			2017
				£'000			£'000		£'000			£'000
EMEA				797,427			675,983		394,337			332,288
United Kingdom				313,525			312,915		138,392			140,768
Asia Pacific		Australia and New Zealand		112,930			110,602		40,592			37,703
		Asia		153,794			125,688		120,566			99,469
		Total		266,724			236,290		161,158			137,172
Americas				172,265			146,346		121,015			101,340
				1,549,941			1,371,534		814,902			711,568

				Operating Profit
				2018			2017
				£'000			£'000
EMEA				85,586			69,674
United Kingdom				13,392			15,978
Asia Pacific		Australia and New Zealand		4,291			5,480
		Asia		22,474			18,039
		Total		26,765			23,519
Americas				16,720			9,151
Operating profit				142,463			118,322
Financial expense				(188)			(160)
Profit before tax				142,275			118,162

The above analysis by destination is not materially different to analysis by origin.
 

The analysis below is of the carrying amount of reportable segment assets, liabilities and non-current assets. Segment assets and liabilities include items directly attributable to a segment as well as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis. The individual reportable segments exclude current income tax assets and liabilities. Non-current assets include property, plant and equipment, computer software, goodwill and other intangible.

(b)   Segment assets and liabilities by reportable segment

				Total Assets					Total Liabilities
				2018			2017			2018			2017
				£'000			£'000			£'000			£'000
EMEA				246,687			219,024			131,948			109,100
United Kingdom				121,058			123,423			40,398			51,193
Asia Pacific		Australia and New Zealand		29,719			24,639			11,059			10,349
		Asia		85,501			61,176			18,744			18,132
		Total		115,220			85,815			29,803			28,481
Americas				63,012			55,898			22,308			18,815
Segment assets/liabilities				545,977			484,160			224,457			207,589
Income tax				17,206			15,652			20,145			22,166
				563,183			499,812			244,602			229,755

				Property, Plant & Equipment					Intangible Assets
				2018			2017		2018			2017
				£'000			£'000		£'000			£'000
EMEA				13,654			12,218		3,171			3,668
United Kingdom				6,254			6,894		29,554			30,116
Asia Pacific		Australia and New Zealand		1,557			1,174		274			2
		Asia		5,604			3,397		207			31
		Total		7,161			4,571		481			33
Americas				8,495			6,475		190			341
				35,564			30,158		33,396			34,158

The below analyses in notes (c) revenue and gross profit by discipline (being the professions of candidates placed) relates to the requirements of IFRS 15 to disclose disaggregated revenue streams.

 (c)  Revenue and gross profit by discipline

					Revenue					Gross Profit
					2018			2017		2018			2017
					£'000			£'000		£'000			£'000
Accounting and Financial Services					609,131			559,480		282,653			261,062
Legal, Technology, HR, Secretarial and Other					402,321			337,857		196,773			161,424
Engineering, Property & Construction, Procurement & Supply Chain					345,654			290,830		194,562			158,714
Marketing, Sales and Retail					192,835			183,367		140,914			130,368
					1,549,941			1,371,534		814,902			711,568

The analysis in Notes (d) revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements and (e) revenue and gross profit by strategic markets have been included as additional disclosure over and above the requirements of IFRS 8 "Operating Segments".

(d)   Revenue and gross profit generated from permanent and temporary placements

				Revenue					Gross Profit
				2018			2017		2018			2017
				£'000			£'000		£'000			£'000
Permanent				629,136			543,262		621,746			536,010
Temporary				920,805			828,272		193,156			175,558
				1,549,941			1,371,534		814,902			711,568

(e)   Revenue and gross profit by strategic market

				Revenue				Gross Profit
				2018		2017		2018		2017
				£'000		£'000		£'000		£'000
Large, Proven markets				935,800		860,415		419,102		383,027
Large, High Potential markets				414,245		338,002		270,311		222,676
Small and Medium, High Margin markets				199,896		173,117		125,489		105,865
				1,549,941		1,371,534		814,902		711,568

 

4.    Financial income / (expenses)

						2018		2017
						£'000		£'000
Financial income
Bank interest receivable						631		229
Financial expenses
Bank interest payable						(598)		(241)
Interest on discounting of French construction participation tax						(221)		(148)
						(819)		(389)

5.    Taxation

Tax on profit was £38.6m (2017: £35.1m). This represented an effective tax rate ("ETR") of 27.1% (2017: 29.7%). The ETR was higher in 2017 mainly because of the impact of US tax reform which reduced the federal corporate income tax rate, resulting in the write-down of the US deferred tax assets. The rate is higher than the effective UK rate for the calendar year of 19% (2017: 19.25%) principally due to the impact of higher tax rates in overseas countries and to a lesser extent disallowable expenditure.  There are some countries in which the tax rate is lower than the UK, but the impact is very small either because the countries are not significant contributors to Group profit or the tax rate difference is not significant.

6.    Dividends

						2018	2017
						£'000	£'000
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2017 of 8.60p per ordinary share (2016: 8.23p)						27,433	25,857
Interim dividend for the year ended 31 December 2018 of 4.10p per ordinary share (2017: 3.90p)						13,117	12,287
Special dividend for the year ended 31 December 2018 of 12.73p per ordinary share (2017: 12.73p)						40,762	40,107
						81,312	78,251
Amounts proposed as distributions to equity holders in the year:
Proposed final dividend for the year ended 31 December 2018 of 9.00p per ordinary share (2017: 8.60p)						29,171	27,144

The proposed final dividend had not been approved by the Board at 31 December and therefore has not been included as a liability. The comparative final dividend at 31 December 2017 was also not recognised as a liability in the prior year.

The proposed final dividend of 9.00p (2017: 8.60p) per ordinary share will be paid on 17 June 2019 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 17 May 2019.

7.    Share-based payments

In accordance with IFRS 2 "Share-based Payment", a charge of £8.4m has been recognised for share options and other share-based payment arrangements (including social charges) (31 December 2017: £7.7m).

 

8.    Earnings per ordinary share

The calculation of the basic and diluted earnings per share is based on the following data:

Earnings	2018			2017
Earnings for basic and diluted earnings per share (£'000)	103,703			83,080
Number of shares
Weighted average number of shares used for basic earnings per share ('000)	318,877			313,491
Dilution effect of share plans ('000)	1,627			1,287
Diluted weighted average number of shares used for diluted earnings per share ('000)	320,504			314,778
Basic earnings per share (pence)	32.5			26.5
Diluted earnings per share (pence)	32.4			26.4

The above results all relate to continuing operations.

9.    Property, plant and equipment

Acquisitions and Disposals

During the year ended 31 December 2018 the Group acquired property, plant and equipment with a cost of £15.7m (2017: £13.4m).

Property, plant and equipment with a carrying amount of £1.2m were disposed of during the year ended 31 December 2018 (2017: £3.9m), resulting in a loss on disposal of £0.2m (2017: profit of £0.2m).

10.   Trade and other receivables

	2018			2017
	£'000			£'000
Current
Trade receivables	297,380			253,555
Less allowance for expected credit losses and revenue reversals	(9,174)			(8,161)
Net trade receivables	288,206			245,394
Other receivables	3,814			9,839
Accrued income	44,430			31,938
Prepayments	12,661			11,918
	349,111			299,089
Non-current
Other Receivables	12,746			10,513

11.   Trade and other payables

	2018			2017
	£'000			£'000
Current
Trade payables	6,594			6,240
Other tax and social security	58,186			54,615
Other payables	26,870			28,312
Accruals	111,040			97,467
Deferred income	1,663			1,096
	204,353			187,730
Non-current
Accruals	18,453			18,628
Other tax and social security	1,021			861
	19,474			19,489

 

12.   Cash and cash equivalents

							2018			2017
							£'000			£'000
Cash at bank and in hand							97,626			95,327
Short-term deposits							47			278
Cash and cash equivalents							97,673			95,605
Cash and cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows							97,673			95,605

The Group operates multi-currency cash concentration and notional cash pools, and an interest enhancement facility. The Eurozone subsidiaries and the UK-based Group Treasury subsidiary participate in the cash concentration arrangement, the Group Treasury subsidiary retains the notional cash pool and the Asia Pacific subsidiaries operate the interest enhancement facility. The structures facilitate interest compensation of cash whilst supporting working capital requirements.

PageGroup maintains a Confidential Invoice Facility with HSBC whereby the Group has the option to discount facilities in order to advance cash on its receivables. The facility is used only ad hoc in case the Group needs to fund any major GBP cash outflow.
 

13.   Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting of PageGroup plc will be held at Page House, The Bourne Business Park, 1 Dashwood Lang Road, Addlestone, Weybridge, Surrey, KT15 2QW on 24 May 2019 at 9.30am.

14.   Publication of Annual Report and Accounts

This preliminary statement is not being posted to shareholders. The Annual Report and Accounts will be posted to shareholders in due course and will be delivered to the Registrar of Companies following the Annual General Meeting of the Company.

Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts will be available from the Company's website in April 2019.

http://www.pagegroup.co.uk/investors/reports-and-presentations/annual-and-interim-reports/2018.aspx

 

Responsibility statement of the directors on the annual report

The responsibility statement below has been prepared in connection with the Company's full annual report for the year

ending 31 December 2018. Certain parts of the annual report are not included within this announcement.

We confirm that, to the best of our knowledge:-

a) the financial statements, prepared in accordance with IFRSs as adopted by the European Union, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken as a whole; and

b) the management report, which is incorporated into the directors' report, includes a fair review of the development and

performance of the business and the position of the company and the undertakings included in the consolidation taken

as a whole, together with a description of the principal risks and uncertainties they face.

On behalf of the Board

S Ingham	K Stagg
Chief Executive Officer	Chief Financial Officer
5 March 2019	5 March 2019

 

END

 

 

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