LONDON: Recruiter Michael Page posted a 30 percent jump in first-quarter gross profit, boosted by growth in the Asia-Pacific region, and said it was well placed to exceed last year's profit.
Michael Page, which finds jobs for people in the financial, accounting and legal services sectors, said on Monday its operating profit to the end of March, 2011 was 127.3 million pounds ($208.6 million) compared with 97.9 million pounds for the same period in 2010.
Shares in the FTSE 250 company, which said it would resume with share repurchases for cancellation during the second quarter, were up 2.42 percent in London at 0916 GMT on Monday.
"Within a recruitment sector that we like anyway, we regard Michael Page as a very well-managed business with strong recovery prospects and reiterate our "Buy" recommendation," Investec analysts wrote in a note.
Asia-Pacific and Latin America, where permanent placings make up the majority of its business, continued to lead the growth charge, rising 62.6 percent year-on-year. The EMEA region, which represents 44 percent of group profit, was up 26.1 percent.
In the UK, profit was up 9.4 percent, with private sector growth countered by a fall in the public sector.
"We've followed the pattern of last year of everything growing, including Holland which was perhaps our one Achilles heel last year," Chief Executive Steve Ingham told reporters.
The company, which more than trebled its profit for 2010, added that the group's growth was largely driven by permanent placements, a trend that could see the firm return to peak earnings in 2012.
"Consensus is around 110 million pounds for this year, next year it is around peak earnings, so that's the plan," Ingham said.
The company said the outlook in Asia and Latin America remained positive and Europe continued to improve, adding that it was well positioned to exceed 2010 profit performance.
In disaster-hit Japan, which represents about 2 percent of the group, Ingham said it had "probably lost half a million pounds in revenue" in the first quarter but did not know what the impact would be in the second.
Last week, recruitment rivals Hays and Robert Walters reported results, with Hays posting a 16 percent rise in third quarter net fees and Robert Walters announcing a 23 percent rise in first quarter gross profit.
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