PageGroup (LON:PAGE), the professional recruitment group operating under the Michael Page brand, reported a resilient first-half performance as growth in Asia-Pacific, the Americas and Southern Europe partly offset continued weakness in France, Northern Europe and the U.K.
Group gross profit totaled £385.2 million for the first half of 2026, down 2.4% on a constant-currency basis. Operating profit rose to £9.7 million from £2.1 million in the first half of 2025, producing a 2.5% conversion rate. Earnings per share were 1.2 pence.
“Trading remained more challenging across France, Northern Europe, and the U.K.,” Kirk said, adding that the company continues to direct resources toward markets with larger structural opportunities, including the U.S. and Japan.
Productivity and cost actions
Chief Financial Officer Kelvin Stagg said gross profit per fee earner, the company’s productivity measure, increased 3.7% from the prior-year period and reached its highest level since PageGroup’s record year in 2022. Kirk said the group’s focus on more senior appointments, higher salary levels and higher fee rates had supported productivity and helped Page Executive deliver a record first half.
Page Executive, which focuses on executive search, represents about 10% of group gross profit, according to Kirk. The business grew 8% in the first half, with particularly strong performances in Germany, Southern Europe, Greater China, Southeast Asia and India.
The company has continued to reduce costs amid the tougher recruitment environment. Stagg said programs introduced since the strategy launch have generated approximately £40 million of annualized savings, excluding reductions associated with lower fee-earner headcount. Those actions have included cutting non-operational roles, shifting functions to lower-cost locations, consolidating offices and reducing management layers.
In the first half, PageGroup incurred £2.5 million of net one-off costs related to senior exits. The company expects those actions to provide an equivalent annualized saving from 2027.
- EMEA delivered a 7.5% conversion rate, the highest among the group’s regions.
- The Americas remained profitable, with a 4.2% conversion rate.
- Asia-Pacific and the U.K. generated positive trading conversion, but reported negative conversion rates after central cost allocations and one-off costs.
Cash flow, debt and dividend
PageGroup ended June with net debt of £7.2 million, compared with a net cash position at the end of 2025. The company had £30 million drawn under its revolving credit facility and £7.6 million under a U.K. trade debtor discounting facility, partly offset by £13.4 million of cash.
Stagg said first-half EBITDA generated £40 million of cash inflow, but this was offset by a £33.9 million increase in net working capital, £7.3 million in tax and net interest payments, £3.2 million in capital expenditure, £20.6 million in lease-liability payments and a £10 million final dividend payment for 2025.
The working-capital movement reflected annual bonuses and fourth-quarter profit-share payments, as well as higher trade debtors associated with the relative resilience of temporary recruitment. The company also recorded around £11 million more in prepayments than in December, largely because significant software license renewals occur in the first half. Stagg said this balance is expected to unwind in the second half.
The company said debtor days had not deteriorated in either permanent or temporary recruitment, and it had not experienced higher debt write-offs. It expects to end the year with around £30 million of net cash after paying the interim dividend.
The board declared an interim dividend of 1.46 pence per share, totaling £4.6 million. The dividend will be paid Oct. 9 to shareholders on the register Aug. 28. Stagg said the decision reflected current profitability, affordability, the uncertain market backdrop and the group’s desire to continue investing in growth areas.
Brand simplification and technology
The company has consolidated its brands and sub-brands under the Michael Page identity, while retaining Page Executive as a brand within the group’s executive-search offering. The business will present three service areas to customers: Specialist Recruitment Services, Executive Search and Enterprise Solutions.
Kirk said the final transition, involving about six markets moving from the Page Personnel name to Michael Page, took place roughly a week and a half before the call. He said the process had involved customer consultation over an 18-month planning period and that employees were enthusiastic about the new positioning.
PageGroup also said it is expanding its adoption of artificial intelligence tools, including “smart agents” used across the business. Kirk described the company as being at the beginning of its AI journey and said technology is intended to reduce administrative work, support screening, talent mapping, insights and candidate outreach, while retaining human judgment and client relationships in senior-level recruitment.
Enterprise Solutions’ outsourcing operation delivered a record first half, with growth of 22%, according to Kirk. The group’s client Net Promoter Score increased to 67 in the first half from 66 in 2025 and 61 in 2024. It said it changed more than 75,000 lives during the period, bringing the total since its 2020 target was established to more than 865,000 toward its goal of 1 million by 2030.
Outlook
Kirk said the U.K. business had undertaken restructuring and productivity actions and that the company expects improved results in the second half, subject to political and macroeconomic conditions. He said the U.K. operation is profitable at a trading level, though group-cost allocations weigh on reported regional profitability.
PageGroup said its diversified model, balance sheet and continuing cost review leave it positioned to benefit when markets improve. The board expects full-year operating profit to be in line with company-compiled consensus of £28 million. Its next market update is scheduled for Oct. 13.
About PageGroup (LON:PAGE)
PageGroup Changes Lives…
That’s our PageGroup Purpose, delivered by c.7,300 people in 36 countries, with a gross profit of over £842.6m in 2024. Our four core ?PageGroup brands?are supported by specialised recruitment teams operating across 25 disciplines.
As a FTSE 250 company, a lot has changed since we were set up in 1976 and the Group continues to grow and evolve. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to the success of our clients and candidates, and our own people.
PageGroup’s strategy is geared for the long-term.
