FTSE 250 movers: Trustpilot surges; PageGroup slumps

(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 22,969.15 -0.29%

Trustpilot was the standout gainer on the FTSE 250 after saying it expects to report a 22% year-on-year increase in bookings for 2025 and for adjusted EBITDA to be ahead of market expectations.

The website, which is free to use by consumers but charges businesses for premium tools, analytics and marketing features, reported a 22% increase in full-year bookings to $291m, rising 18% at constant currencies (CC).

In a pre-close trading update on Tuesday, Trustpilot said bookings across the UK were up 16% at CC at $116m, while North America bookings rose 21% to $62m, and bookings across the Europe and Rest of World division jumped 20% to $113m.

Growth was said to have accelerated in the second half, with particular strength in new business and 'enterprise' customers. As a result, adjusted EBITDA is "projected to be ahead of market expectations".

The cash balance at the end of 2025 fell to $48m, down from $59m previously, with the firm having completed $72m of share buybacks during the year.

Given the company's strong cash position and confidence in future cash generation, the existing share buyback programme has been beefed up to $40m from $30m previously.

"2025 was a year of excellent strategic and financial progress, with growth accelerating in H2," said chief executive Adrian Blair.

"Answer Engine Optimisation drove particularly strong growth in enterprise new business. This, combined with product innovation and improved gross dollar retention, positions us strongly for 2026."

Recruiter PageGroup slumped as it posted a drop in fourth-quarter gross profit, highlighting ongoing challenging conditions in Continental Europe and the UK.

Gross profit fell 4.6% from the same period a year earlier to £190.7m. While the UK and Continental Europe remained challenging, PageGroup delivered a fifth consecutive quarter of growth in the US and a third consecutive quarter of growth in Asia, where Greater China delivered its first quarter of growth since 2022.

EMEA gross profit declined 8.9% to £102.1m in the fourth quarter, while the UK saw a 10.1% decline to £22m. The Americas and Asia Pacific saw gross profit grow 2.4% to £36.4m and 6.4% to £30.2m, respectively.

In the permanent segment, gross profit fell 4.1% to £135.5m, while temporary profit was down 5.6% to £55.2m.

PageGroup said it expects 2025 operating profit to be broadly in line with current market consensus of £21.1m.

Chief executive Nicholas Kirk said: "The group produced a resilient performance despite the ongoing market uncertainty, which is characterised by continued subdued levels of client and candidate confidence.

"We delivered growth across both the Americas and Asia Pacific regions, with sustained growth in the US, our fourth largest market. Collectively, these two regions represent 35% of the group. However, we continued to experience lower levels of confidence in Europe, particularly in France, our largest market, as well as in the UK.

"We remain committed to our strategy and continue to reallocate resources into the areas of the business offering the most significant long-term structural opportunities, ensuring headcount in all our markets is aligned to activity levels. Overall, our focus remains to balance near-term productivity, which grew 3% in Q4, with ensuring we are well placed to take advantage of opportunities as market conditions improve."

Raspberri Pi was under the cosh as the low-cost computer maker said 2025 profits would be ahead of expectations after a strong second half but flagged uncertainty going into 2026 as the price of memory surged due to suppliers diverting products to artificial intelligence data centres.

THG reported a strong finish to 2025 on Tuesday, with fourth-quarter group revenue growth of 7.0% on a constant currency basis, the strongest performance of the year, driven by outperformance in THG Beauty.

Group revenue for the second half rose 6.7% year-on-year, around 14% ahead of the top end of the company's previous guidance range of 3.9% to 5.9%.

The FTSE 250 company said it entered 2026 with high confidence in trading momentum across both THG Beauty and THG Nutrition following approximately 8% revenue growth over November and December.

In the fourth quarter, THG generated total revenue of £527.4m, up 7% on a constant currency basis, while full-year revenue rose 2.3% to £1.72bn, marking the group's first year of growth since 2021 and a recovery from a 2.5% decline in the first half.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Trustpilot Group (TRST) 206.60p 9.78% Ceres Power Holdings (CWR) 274.60p 6.93% Gamma Communications (GAMA) 925.00p 4.76% Senior (SNR) 227.00p 3.65% Ocado Group (OCDO) 298.90p 3.60% Oxford Instruments (OXIG) 2,210.00p 2.79% Spire Healthcare Group (SPI) 180.60p 2.61% Vietnam Enterprise Investments (DI) (VEIL) 852.00p 2.04% Ithaca Energy (ITH) 165.40p 1.97% Future (FUTR) 522.00p 1.95%

FTSE 250 - Fallers

SSP Group (SSPG) 188.70p -4.50% THG (THG) 45.78p -4.47% Pagegroup (PAGE) 213.80p -4.30% Pan African Resources (PAF) 122.80p -3.76% Vistry Group (VTY) 681.40p -2.80% Elementis (ELM) 166.20p -2.58% Princes Group (PRN) 458.25p -2.50% Balfour Beatty (BBY) 710.00p -2.34% Raspberry PI Holdings (RPI) 283.30p -2.31% Diversified Energy Company (DI) (DEC) 937.00p -2.29%