Companies: PRP   

Operating in the out-of-favour areas of recruitment and property, AIM-listed Prime People has nonetheless reported a creditable rise in annual profits to March.

Pre-tax profits increased by 21.1 per cent to £2.43 million, on near 30 per cent net fee income growth to over £14 million, reflecting ongoing UK growth and expansion overseas.

Cautious about UK growth for the year ahead, managing director Peter Moore said UK demand for Prime People’s ‘white collar’ workers is underpinned by skill shortages and a pipeline of major infrastructure and development projects.

However, he admitted that following recent slowdown in the commercial property market, Prime People had recently experienced weakening demand for the transactional and investment professionals it provides.

Elsewhere, in the international commercial property market, Prime People is seeing strong demand for its staff’s sophisticated expertise in property management and investment. Last year saw continued expansion overseas, with the headcount increased by 86 per cent across the group’s operations in Hong Kong, Australia, South Africa and the buoyant UAE.

In spite of the encouraging numbers, shares in the business, substantially down from a 52-week peak of 126.5p, surrendered another penny in early dealings today. At the current 67.5p, the group is worth only £8.12 million.

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Prime People	AIM	£2.95m	24.50p	-2.50p
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