PageGroup says Iran war creating more uncertainty as Q1 profits fall

(Sharecast News) - Recruiter PageGroup said first quarter gross profit fell 3.9% as an uncertain economic environment in Europe and the Middle East offset growth in Asia and the Americas. "Whilst we have seen signs of a normalisation in trading in some of our markets, the increased geopolitical and macro-economic risks due to the conflict in the Middle East create a heightened degree of uncertainty in the outlook for the rest of the year," the company said in a trading statement on Tuesday.

Page said it continued to experience lower levels of candidate and client confidence in Europe, particularly in it second largest market, France, as well as in the UK amid cutbacks in hiring slowdown as employers delay recruitment decisions and workers become wary of changing jobs, amid worries over the spread of artificial intelligence.

Gross profit fell to £187m on a reported basis. In constant currency the decline was 4.9% Page said.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com