Recruiter PageGroup lifts annual profit view on hiring demand, staff crunch

(Reuters) -Global recruiter PageGroup Plc lifted its full-year profit forecast for the third time in six months on Wednesday, buoyed by a surge in demand for long-term hiring and staff shortages.

Since the pandemic, most global recruiters are rushing to fill up vacancies as workspaces are adopting hybrid working models and adapt to the pandemic. PageGroup's smaller rival Robert Walters also forecast annual profit to exceed current expectations on Tuesday.

PageGroup said its gross profit for the fourth quarter was 246.8 million pounds ($336.39 million), compared with 165.4 million pounds reported a year earlier, with productivity up 25% on pre-pandemic levels.

"This (growth) is driven by improved trading conditions, a shorter time to hire facilitated by video interviewing, investments in new systems, wage inflation and improvements in fee rates," Chief Executive Officer Steve Ingham said.

Weybridge, England-headquartered PageGroup, which helps in hiring executives, professionals and clerical staff, expects annual operating profit of around 165 million pounds, up from a forecast of 155 million pounds it gave in October.

($1 = 0.7337 pounds)

(Reporting by Amna Karimi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)