Michael Page International has seen profits rise due to its investment in “diversifying” the group internationally, according to a Q2 and H1 2010 trading update.

The update reveals:

• Group Q2 gross profit of £111.5m up 33.1% (29.8%*) on Q2 2009 (£83.8m), sequentially £13.6m or 14% (13.9%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• EMEA (42% of group) Q2 gross profit of £46.7m up 22.4% (25.0%*) on Q2 2009 (£38.2m), sequentially £2.1m or 4.8% (7.7%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• UK (29% of group) Q2 gross profit of £32.2m up 14.4% on Q2 2009 (£28.1m), sequentially £3.2m or 11% on Q1 2010
  
  
• Asia Pacific (16% of group) Q2 gross profit of £18.0m up 85.2% (63.8%*) on Q2 2009 (£9.7m), sequentially £4.8m or 37.1% (32.4%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• Americas (13% of group) Q2 gross profit of £14.6m up 87.9% (65.6%*) on Q2 2009 (£7.8m), sequentially £3.4m or 30.7% (23.8%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• Permanent (79% of group) Q2 gross profit of £87.9m up 51.5% (47.0%*) on Q2 2009 (£58m), sequentially £12.9m or 17.3% (16.9%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• Temporary (21% of group) Q2 gross profit of £23.6m down 8.3% (-9.1%*) on Q2 2009 (£25.8m), sequentially £0.7m or 3.2% (4%*) on Q1 2010
  
  
• Net cash at 30 June 2010 roughly £63m

* Denotes where overseas results denominated in foreign currencies have been translated at constant rates of exchange for constant currency illustrative purposes.

Steve Ingham, chief executive, says: “We achieved a strong performance in the second quarter, with gross profit of £111.5m, up 14% sequentially on the first quarter of 2010 and 33% higher than the second quarter of 2009. The improvement in our performance has been driven by greater permanent recruitment activity as confidence levels improve, leading to higher rates of job churn.

“We are benefiting from our investment in diversifying the Group internationally, with over 70% of our gross profit now derived from areas outside of the UK and over 40% of our fee earners in the faster developing recruitment markets.”