Prime People, the parent company of recruitment consultancies Macdonald & Company and Harper Craven, has announced a 23% rise in profit before tax when compared to the same period the previous year.

The figure of £500k is for the six months ending September.

However, group revenues declined by 8%, moving from £7.2m to £6.6m, which chairman Robert Macdonald puts down to a reduction in the temporary business, which decreased from 15% of the business for the six months ending September 2010, to 8% for the same period this year.

The company also reports growth of the energy and environment section of the business into Asia, and pharmaceutical research also being a strongly performing sector.