PageGroup PLC on Wednesday said it expects to deliver a lower annual profit as clients continue to defer hiring decisions and candidates remain cautious about accepting job offers.
The Surrey, England-based recruitment firm said gross profit fell 10% to £242.2 million in the third quarter of the year from £270.5 million a year prior.
‘Reflecting the uncertain market conditions, clients sought more flexible options, and, as such, temporary recruitment was more resilient than permanent recruitment’, the company explained.
Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Kirk added that: ‘These lower offers, combined with lower candidate confidence, led to a further increase in the number of offers rejected by candidates, either through employer buybacks or unwillingness to risk the move for the size of incentive on offer.’
As a result, PageGroup said there is a ‘heightened’ degree of uncertainty moving forward in the short-term and forecasts an operating profit for the full-year of between £125 million and £130 million, compared to £196.1 million a year ago.
Shares in PageGroup were down 3.4% at 409.80 pence each in London on Wednesday morning.
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