Michael Page Share Discussion Threads

[cyclingnut] 05/4/2008 17:55

any of you chaps in HVN....seems to be on it's knees and I am hoping for a decent run up to the results and beyond....results out April 17th.

[virte] 04/4/2008 09:42

standard life are keen..

[virte] 02/4/2008 17:55

£2.56 - i find this hard to believe.

[virte] 01/4/2008 16:52

which broker?

[dr darkstar] 31/3/2008 21:23

Broker downgrade not a great help , but at least held above 300

[liarspoker] 28/3/2008 20:11

Took a bit of profit here today on the first jump up to 315p.

Watching closely for any decent dips though.

[jeanal] 28/3/2008 19:23

Bought some STHR today...looks ready to go back up, has great fundamentals.

[liarspoker] 28/3/2008 08:50

Trading Statement

[virte] 28/3/2008 08:30

whats a T/S?

[liarspoker] 28/3/2008 07:47

I reckon that I'd be adding if this drops more than 10% JeanAl. ;o)

Good statement by STHR this AM - business going well.

I am looking forward to the MPI T/S on the 7th of April.

[jeanal] 27/3/2008 20:16

Me too. I am riding the wave. I do have a trailing 9% stop loss in place though!

[liarspoker] 27/3/2008 13:23

Well I am still holding both MPI & RWA and am glad that I am.

Share price should be radically higher for both in a year or two or three imo.

Collect the divi and just sit back and relax. :O)

[cockneyrebel] 07/3/2008 10:37

Closed my MPI and moved the cash into RWA - RWA looking cheaper on PE, growth and directors have just bought big stakes. More likely to get taken over than MPI too imo.

CR

[mattyd] 04/3/2008 07:27

Fantastic results - no nasty surprise. hope the share price can back to a more realistic value


RNS Number:2668P
Michael Page International PLC
04 March 2008


Michael Page International plc


RECORD RESULTS DRIVEN BY CONSISTENT, ORGANIC GROWTH STRATEGY OF INVESTMENT
THROUGH CYCLES

Full Year Results for the year ended 31 December 2007


Michael Page International plc ("Michael Page"), the specialist professional
recruitment company, announces its full year results for the year ended 31
December 2007.

2007 2006 Change
£m £m

Revenue 831.6 649.1 +28%
Gross profit 478.1 348.8 +37%
Operating profit 149.4 97.4 +54%
Profit before tax 147.4 97.0 +52%
Basic earnings per share (pence) 31.1 19.6 +59%
Diluted earnings per share (pence) 30.6 19.0 +61%
Dividend 8.0p 6.0p +33%



Key Points

* Record levels of revenue and profits

* Gross margin increased to 57.5% (2006: 53.7%)

* Conversion rate* up to 31.3% (2006: 27.9%)

* Over 60% of gross profits generated outside the UK

* EMEA gross profits up 55% and now largest region

* Americas gross profits up 79%

* Cash generated from operations up 88.6% to £148.7m (2006: £78.8m)

* 15.1m shares repurchased at a cost of £74.9m (includes 3.5m shares
repurchased into trust)

* Group headcount increased by 34% to 5,052 employees


* The amount of operating profit as a proportion of gross profit.


Commenting on the results, Steve Ingham, Chief Executive of Michael Page, said:

"2007 was an outstanding year for Michael Page, with record results in each
quarter as we continued our significant organic expansion, both by geography and
discipline. Since the start of the current year, with the exception of certain
sectors related to the banking market, we continue to experience similar
year-on-year increases in activity levels in all of our regions.

"Our consistent organic growth strategy of investment through cycles, coupled
with structural changes are driving our growth in the specialist recruitment
market. We believe this investment has, in turn, given us greater resilience to
the economic cycle by virtue of our increased diversification. Whilst we are
mindful of the uncertainties surrounding the current global economic outlook, we
shall continue to make strategic and measured investments to position the
business for long-term growth. The Board remains confident in the prospects for
Michael Page."

[crosswire] 04/3/2008 06:25

OUTLOOK Michael Page FY pretax seen up 51 pct on geographical diversification

Tuesday, March 04, 2008; Posted: 12:35 AM


LONDON, Mar 04, 2008 (Thomson Financial via COMTEX) -- MPGPF | news | PowerRating | PR Charts -- Michael Page International PLC is expected to report a 51 pct increase in full-year pretax profit today, boosted by geographical diversification, although the company must specify its growth prospects for the shares to pick up, analysts said.

Evolution Securities analyst Hector Forsythe said he expects "a confident update couched in language appropriate to prevailing economic uncertainty", and comments on plans for further growth this year.

Based on the consensus of 22 analysts provided by the company, full-year pretax profit will reach 146.4 mln stg from 97 mln in the same period last year.

The company said in its January trading update it had seen signs of weakness in specific banking sectors in the UK and Asia, which was blamed for UK net fee income growth slowing to 15.6 pct in the fourth quarter.

The explanation was the impact of investment banking and of internal leadership issues in the finance and accounting business in London. Forsythe said investors should keep their focus on this.

Analysts expect the overall business growth rate, or gross profit, to increase 37 pct year-on-year to 478.1 mln stg on the back of geographical diversification.

The driving force remains supply constraints in specialist recruitment niches, together with regulatory and legislative changes in European markets, said Forsythe.

Michael Page reported high double-digit growth in Europe, Middle-East, Africa, the Americas and Asia Pacific in January.

Headcount -- which analysts view as a measure for the health of the business -- has also increased, with the group saying in January this figure was 5,052 as of Dec 31.

Altium Securities analyst David O'Brien said this increase highlighted the confidence that management has in the medium-term outlook, although other analysts think this will slow going forward.

Michael Page shares have lost half of their value since July because of investor worries the credit crunch will spread to other areas of the economy and hurt recruitment companies.

Michael Page has tried to assure the market its business is still strong despite the headwinds in UK and Asian banking sectors, although investors will want to hear more about the recruiter's growth plans as well as comments on current trading.

The company previously has said that while it is mindful of the uncertainties surrounding the global economic outlook, it still has many opportunities to grow its business.

Analysts said they want the company to identify these opportunities and will also keep an eye on the cost base, in particular the headcount. By Anita Likus; [e-mail] aml/wj

[crosswire] 03/3/2008 17:11

Support services

Michael Page International, the recruitment group, is expected tomorrow to report a 51 per cent increase in full-year pretax profits. Analysts said that the company must specify its growth prospects if the shares are to pick up

[mattyd] 19/2/2008 13:09

looks like improving sentiment in the banking sector is having a knock on effect here. bout bloody time too

[virte] 07/2/2008 18:35

very hard hit at the moment...

[mattyd] 01/2/2008 11:55

was just thinking that. seems to have turned the corner thank god. strange though, for a stock that follows the movement in the banking sector it hasnt been effected by the last weeks turmoils.

[jeanal] 31/1/2008 17:56

At last an upturn...does have excellent fundamentals

[theband] 11/1/2008 09:15

The thing is, do you think the economys on the verge of a boom. Even so, surely this is the bottom, unless you look at the 5 year chart.
Vidacos now have + 9%.

[mattyd] 09/1/2008 22:12

looks like were back to the same old sh1t today. Grrr.

[ilancas] 09/1/2008 10:43

From the Telegraph.....
Questor says Buy

When Questor tipped Michael Page International back in August of last year, we warned investors to be prepared for a bumpy ride. In fact, the journey has been rather less bumpy, and more of a downward helter skelter, than we ever anticipated.

Like rivals such as Hays, Michael Page has received a battering from a market that expected the waves from the credit crisis to hit the company full on, wiping out the company's business.


So far, the disaster appears to have been averted. Whether it can be avoided altogether, or merely deferred, remains to be seen.

Inevitably, the company witnessed slower hiring in some banking functions in the fourth quarter, but as it expands in other industries and other parts of the world, domestic financial hiring is becoming a smaller part of the business. Meanwhile, other areas - such as European sales and marketing and engineering workers - grew to such an extent that Michael Page was able to boast a 38pc increase in fourth-quarter gross profit to a record £128m, exceeding consensus forecasts.

"Immature" markets in Europe such as Germany represent "massive opportunity" for further expansion, chief executive officer Steve Ingham said as he continues to transform the company to one looking very unlike the one that was hit so hard during the slowdown at the turn of the century.

Given the lack of visibility in some of Michael Page's key markets, and the continuing question over how sustained any downturn will be, any recovery in the share price - which has fallen 41pc over the past 12 months - seems unlikely to arrive soon.

The risk averse or shareholders looking for a fast buck should keep on moving. But for investors with a longer-term outlook, the stock - on just 8.6 times Investec's 2007 forecasts, dropping to 6.5 times those for 2008 - looks cheap.