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Recruitment company Page swung to a first-half profit and reinstated its dividend as demand recovered.
Pre-tax profit for the six months through June amounted to £63.7 million, compared to a year-on-year loss of £0.8 million.
Revenue climbed 17% to £766.4 million and gross profit jumped 34% to £404.2 million.
Page reinstated its interim dividend at 4.7p per share and also declared a special dividend of 26.71p per share.
The company reiterated its recently upgraded guidance of a full-year operating profit within the range of £125 million to £135 million.
In the first half, operating profit was £64.3 million.
'"Looking ahead, there continues to be a high degree of global macro-economic uncertainty as Covid-19 remains a significant issue and restrictions continue in a number of the group's markets,' chief executive Steve Ingham said.
'Additionally, at this stage of the recovery, it is not clear whether the improved performance is still the result of pent-up supply and demand, or a sustainable trend.'
'However, as stated on 7 July 2021, the strength of our performance in the first half, notably in June, and absent any unexpected events, we expect full year operating profit to be within the range of £125 million to £135 million.'