Client and candidate confidence across markets continued to buoy Michael Page International (MPI) during the first half, as the recruiter delivered a healthy 11 per cent increase in gross profit (at constant currency) to £281m. The fee earner to operational support staff ratio is back to a record 77:23, helping boost profitability. "It's not about more countries, it's about more fee earners in the existing countries and existing offices we're in," said chief executive Steve Ingham. Management is confident - paying shareholders a 16p special dividend.
The group's conversion rate - the ratio of operating profit to gross profit - increased by 80 basis points to 14.3 per cent. Page generated its best performance on home turf, with UK gross profit rising 12 per cent to £75.7m, driven by sectors including finance and accounting. The group's Europe, Middle East and Africa business had a mixed start to the year. Michael Page closed its poor-performing Russian business, incurring costs of around £1m. While gross profit in the Americas grew 7.5 per cent, tough macroeconomic conditions continued to drag on the profit of the group's Brazilian business. As a result fee earner headcount was cut by a fifth.
Broker Numis Securities expects adjusted EPS of 20.3p for the full year, up from 18.2p in 2014.
MICHAEL PAGE INTERNATIONAL (MPI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 550p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.79bn | |
| TOUCH: | 546-550p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 568p | LOW: 359p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2% | PE RATIO: | 26 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 74p | NET CASH: | £101m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 512 | 35.6 | 7.6 | 3.42 |
| 2015 | 530 | 40.4 | 9.1 | 3.60 |
| % change | +4 | +14 | +20 | +5 |
Ex-div: 3 Sep Payment: 2 Oct *excludes special 16p dividend (same ex-div and payment dates apply) | ||||
