Shares in Michael Page International have risen to yet another high, following the group's first-quarter trading update.

The financial recruitment specialist said first quarter gross profits were £105.4m, up 33.2% on the same period a year earlier. The company's results for 2006 were a record (Recruiter, 7 March).

The UK, still its biggest market, saw gross profit rise to £44.1m, up 20.4%. The new businesses it started last year in Moscow, Dublin, Johannesburg and Dubai are "ahead of plan". During the first quarter it started a business in Luxembourg and opened a fifth German office in Hamburg.

Analyst Tom Sykes of Deutsche Bank said: "Michael Page has announced yet another cracking set of numbers." He added: "The Michael Page brand is the key attraction to candidates and the company appears to be taking market share by being able to fill rates up due to the candidate flow that it has, largely through its website."

The shares touched 593.25p on 11 April. This compares with less than £1 in March 2003. Sykes has upped his price target for the shares to 626p, from 585p and maintains his "buy" recommendation.

Steve Ingham, Michael Page's chief executive, said: "This has been an outstanding start to the year with strong growth from all regions and in constant currencies the Group's gross profits grew by 37%."

The company's expansion has seen its headcount rise to 4,100. Ingham said: "In all countries, we are currently experiencing strong levels of client activity."