Recruiter PageGroup's first-quarter profit rises on overseas markets strength

(Reuters) - British recruitment firm PageGroup Plc (PAGE.L) on Wednesday reported a rise in first-quarter gross profit as growth in international markets more than offset a steep drop in earnings from the UK.

The company, which finds candidates mainly to fill permanent positions rather than temporary roles, said gross profit rose 10.3 percent to 187.7 million pounds in the first quarter ended March 31.

Gross profit grew 12.3 percent on a constant currency basis.

However, quarterly gross profit in the UK fell 7.1 percent, compared with a 2.8 percent decline reported in the fourth quarter.

"Brexit related uncertainty continued to impact confidence, particularly within our Michael Page business, which was down 10 percent," PageGroup said.

(Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Amrutha Gayathri)