LONDON (ShareCast) - Recruiter Matchtech has seen no sign of a slowdown in its markets with interim profits up by over 20% and growth in all of its sectors.

The group, which places both permanent staff and as well as supplying contractors, posted pre-tax profits of £5.67m in the half-year to January, up from £4.13m, on sales of £116.6m, up by 25%.

The Built Environment division continues to see the strongest growth, with projects such as the Olympics generally giving good visibility for several years ahead. Engineering was also strong, led by oil & gas firm demand, spurred by the high crude price.

Permanent placements rose by 33% with fees up by 31% to £5.1m. The average fee dropped by 3% reflecting a larger of proportion of graduates placed, Matchtech said.

Contractor number rose by 10% increase with fee income up by 19% reflecting higher wages in its core areas.

"The board remains confident in its outlook for the year and expects to be able to report sound progress in the second half," chairman George Materna added.

The interim dividend rises by 14% to 5p per share.

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