"We are in very good shape to react when things get better," says Steve Ingham, chief executive of recruiter Michael Page (MPI). And it is a general feeling that the economic outlook is improving or at least not getting worse - that meant shares jumped 4 per cent on the back of the full-year results. The numbers themselves for 2012 were uninspiring. After adjusting for £7.8m in restructuring costs, underlying pre-tax profits were down 25 per cent to £64.8m. But, encouragingly, there were signs of improvement in the fourth quarter.
The UK, Asia Pacific and the Americas, which together contribute 59 per cent of group net fee income (NFI), all reported improving quarter-on-quarter NFI trends. In Europe, Middle East and Africa, NFI conditions worsened, dropping 10.9 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with 7.2 per cent in the preceding three months. Michael Page responded to and overall fall in NFI of 4.9 per cent to £526.9m, by reducing headcount in order to protect gross margins, which slipped 1.1 percentage points to 53.2 per cent. Year-end headcount was 187 lower at 5,099.
Employers are still nervous about taking the plunge on permanent hires. NFI from permanent placements fell 6.6 per cent to £409.7m, while temp NFI edged ahead 1.6 per cent to £117.2m. Analysts at UBS forecast a recovery EPS to 15.7p from 14.2p in 2012.
MICHAEL PAGE (MPI) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 461p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.4bn | |
| TOUCH: | 460-461p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 505p | LOW: 337p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.2% | PE RATIO: | 39 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60p* | NET CASH: | £61m | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 0.97 | 140 | 30.3 | 8.0 |
| 2009 | 0.72 | 21.0 | 3.9 | 8.0 |
| 2010 | 0.83 | 101 | 21.6 | 9.0 |
| 2011 | 1.02 | 86.1 | 18.7 | 10.0 |
| 2012 | 0.99 | 57.0 | 11.9 | 10.0 |
| % change | -3 | -34 | -36 | - |
Ex-div: 22 May Payment: 21 Jun *Includes intangible assets of £44m, or 14p a share | ||||
