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• Gross Profit: GBP842.6 million, down 12.8% in constant currencies against 2023.

• Operating Profit: GBP52.4 million, down from GBP118.8 million in 2023.

• Conversion Rate: 6.2%, compared to 11.8% in 2023.

• Earnings Per Share: 9.1p.

• Net Cash: GBP95.3 million, up from GBP90.1 million at the end of 2023.

• Final Dividend: Proposed increase of 4.5% to 11.75p per share.

• Total Dividend: 17.11p per share, including interim dividend.

• Fee Earner Headcount: Reduced by 8.2% from 5,851 in Q4 2023 to 5,370 in Q4 2024.

• Cost Base Reduction: GBP100 million less than in 2023.

• Tax Charge: GBP20.7 million, effective tax rate of 42.1%.

• Net Assets: Decreased by GBP306.5 million to GBP262.4 million.

• EBITDA Inflow: GBP119 million.

• Gross Profit by Region: EMEA down 13.4%, Americas down 9.9%, Asia Pacific down 17%, UK down 16.2%.

• Technology Gross Profit: Non-permanent recruitment represented 41% in 2024, up from 36% in 2023.

• Page Executive Growth: 7% increase, record year globally.

Release Date: March 06, 2025

For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript.

Positive Points

• PageGroup PLC (MPGPF) ended the year with a strong financial position, boasting net cash of GBP95.3 million, up from GBP90.1 million in 2023.

• The Board proposed an increase in the final dividend by 4.5% to 11.75p per share, reflecting confidence in the group's strategic opportunities and balance sheet strength.

• Despite challenging market conditions, Page Executive delivered standout results with a 7% growth, marking a record year globally.

• The company made significant progress in its social impact goal, changing over 130,000 lives in 2024, contributing to a total of over 640,000 since 2020.

• PageGroup PLC (MPGPF) maintained high productivity levels, with gross profit per fee earner down only 1.7% from 2023, significantly above pre-pandemic levels.

Negative Points

• Gross profit for 2024 was GBP842.6 million, down 12.8% in constant currencies compared to 2023, due to challenging trading conditions.

• Operating profit decreased significantly to GBP52.4 million from GBP118.8 million in 2023, with a conversion rate drop from 11.8% to 6.2%.

• The company faced ongoing challenges in converting interviews to accepted offers due to macroeconomic uncertainty impacting candidate and client confidence.

• The EMEA region, representing 55% of the group, saw a gross profit decrease of 13.4% in constant currencies, with market conditions weakening in the second half of 2024.

• The effective tax rate increased to 42.1% due to the derecognition of overseas losses, with an expected rate of around 35% in 2025.