RECRUITMENT firm Michael Page International has suffered a slide in profits at its UK division as the beleaguered banking sector continues to drag on performance.
With Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland all cutting jobs over the past two years, banking business at the UK operation was down 50 per cent, year-on-year, in the six months to the end of June.
The news comes as a study by employment outfit Monster suggests that the overall jobs market has declined over the past year, especially in banking and insurance. It notes a fall in online recruitment by companies operating in banking, finance and insurance for the 18th month in a row.
Official employment data, due out tomorrow, is expected to show ongoing resilience in Britain’s labour market, with the Olympics likely to have provided a temporary boost.
Yesterday’s results from Michael Page show that its UK arm, which represents more than a fifth of total profits, saw revenues drop 10 per cent to £146 million, while gross profits fell 7 per cent to £61.7m.
The wider group saw broadly flat profits of £273.9m in the half year, propped up by a 17 per cent increase in earnings in the Asia-Pacific region. Chief executive Steve Ingham said: “We anticipate a challenging second half as we enter the seasonally quieter summer period in both continental Europe and the UK.
“This is set against tough comparables and an ongoing backdrop of economic uncertainty.”
Brokerage Peel Hunt said the figures were in line with expectations, but analyst Henry Carver maintained his “sell” recommendation. He added: “The long-term story for MPI remains intact, but we consider the current rating reflects a recovery in the short term that is unlikely to materialise.”
