Recruiter Pagegroup profit rises on mainland Europe boost

(Reuters) - British recruiter PageGroup Plc <PAGE.L> reported higher first-half profit on Wednesday, boosted by strong hiring in continental Europe, Middle East and Africa, even as Brexit-led uncertainties hurt hiring at home and trade tensions crimped growth in China.

The company, which focuses on placing candidates mainly in permanent rather than temporary jobs, said profit rose 10.9% to 74.6 million pounds in the six-month period ended June 30.

The recruiter had warned its full-year profits would be hit by Brexit-related uncertainties, the U.S.-China trade war and more recently protests in Hong Kong.

The company, which operates in 36 countries across the world, said operating profit in its Asia Pacific region fell due to the impact of trade-related tensions on markets in China and Singapore.

The Surrey-based company, which generates about a fifth of its gross profit in Britain, said gross profit from the UK fell 0.3% as decision making by clients and candidates continued to be affected. Gross profit in EMEA rose 9.3%, it added.

Shares in PageGroup were marginally higher at 437.4 pence at 0706 GMT.

(Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)