Recruiter PageGroup PLC (LON:PAGE) delivered a 10.9% rise in pre-tax profit for the first half, driven by growth in Continental Europe.
Profit before tax rose to £74.6mln in the six months to June 30 from £67.2mln last year and revenue increased to £820.5mln from £751.6mln.
Gross profit – a key measure for recruiters – edged up to £433.5mln from £390.0mln.
The European Middle East and Africa region achieved a 9.3% gain in gross profit to £213.1mln, accounting for 49% of the total, led by growth in Germany and France.
The Asia Pacific unit grew gross profit by 10.4% to £81.8mln despite tough conditions in China and Singapore. The Americas saw gross profit jump 19.6% to £69.2mln as a strong performance in the US offset weakness in Canada.
However, gross profit in the UK dipped 0.3% to £69.4mln as employers held off hiring more staff due to Brexit uncertainty.
The company said its fee earner headcount fell by 81 to 6,035, mainly in markets where conditions were more challenging such as Greater China and the UK.
"We are pleased with our first half performance, however we remain mindful of challenging macro-economic conditions seen in a number of our regions,” said chief financial officer, Kelvin Stagg.
“We will continue to focus on driving profitable growth, while continuing our strategic investments towards our vision of 10,000 headcount, £1bn of gross profit and £200mln - £250mln of operating profit."