CPL record heavy gains on ISEQ

Recruitment group CPL rose 25c to €4.00 today, almost 7%, following the reports this morning of pre-tax profits of €4.6m for the six months to the end of December, up 79% on the same period a year earlier.

Revenue grew by 34% to €66.3m, while earnings per share were up from six cent to 10.6 cent. Gross profit - the company's net income from fees - rose by 41% o €13.1m.

CPL said all of its divisions were strong, helped by increased demand for IT, telecoms and finance professionals. It said its newer business also performed well, including its executive search business BroadReach International and Cpl Managed Services, which manages call centres and administrative services on behalf of companies.

The bouyed the ISEQ index of Irish shares into positive territory, with it having risen 20.22 points to 7425.35 by 11am this morning.

None of the the financial heavyweights lost territory this morning. AIB gained the most, rising 11c to €17.93. Bank of Ireland rose 2c to €13.67, while Anglo Irish Bank rose 1c to €12.71.

Irish Life and Permanent recorded no change, staying at 16.95.

Oil stocks also recorded gains. Tullow Oil rose 8c to €4.40, while Dragon Oil rose 4c to €3.23.