Investing.com -- Pagegroup PLC (LON:PAGE) unveiled a £15 million ($19.3 million) cost-cutting plan after reporting a 9% drop in first-quarter earnings and citing growing uncertainty tied to U.S. tariffs under the Trump administration.
The recruiter opted not to provide financial guidance, pointing to an increasingly unpredictable market backdrop.
The company's shares fell more than 2% in London trading Wednesday.
"Given the recent introduction of tariffs and the resultant market uncertainty, we are not providing forward-looking guidance on business performance," CEO Nicholas Kirk said in a trading statement.
The company saw a 17% earnings decline in France amid ongoing political and economic unrest.
In Germany, profits fell 12%, though that marked an improvement from the previous quarter’s 23% drop, helped by easing concerns around UK elections and a larger-than-expected government spending plan.
Gross profit slipped to £194.2 million for the quarter ended March 31, down from £220 million a year earlier.
"The conversion of interviews to accepted offers remained the most significant challenge, as ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty continued to impact confidence, which extended time-to-hire," Kirk said.
To rein in costs, PageGroup cut 74 fee-earning consultants and 59 non-operational staff. It also began restructuring its management, streamlining leadership roles as part of broader efficiency measures.
Jefferies analysts said the 9% decline in Q1 9% is slightly ahead of their predicted drop of 10.5%, however, they note that “underlying trends are not showing any improvement and challenging conditions persist.”
“Outlook comments point to a low level of visibility given the increasingly unpredictable economic backdrop,” they added.
The fresh cost-cutting measures are expected to result in a negative fiscal year 2025 (FY25) EBIT impact of 10 million British pounds.
Separately, RBC Capital Markets analysts said that markets for now remain “sequentially stable, with the conversion of interviews to accepted offers the biggest challenge.”
“None of this is a particular surprise and the stock has been one of the worst performers in the sector over the last month, down 23%,” they added.
RBC analysts see meaningful total shareholder return potential over the medium term for investors willing to wait, citing upside to their mid-cycle valuation target and benefits from a strong balance sheet, though they cautioned that "the short-term outlook remains murky."