Earnings release
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QUART E RLY UPDATE FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED 3 0 SEPTEMBER 202 6 12 October 2026
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2 Financial S ummary N et fee performance for the quarter ended 3 0 September 202 6 (Q 1 2 7 ) --- YoY Growth --- Actual LFL Germany ( 7 )% ( 6 ) % United Kingdom & Ireland (UK&I) ( 5 ) % ( 5 ) % Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) 4 % ( 3 ) % Rest of World (RoW) (7) % 0 % Total ( 5 ) % ( 3 ) % Temp & Contracting ( 2 ) % ( 1 )% Permanent ( 10 )% ( 7 )% Total ( 5 )% ( 3 )% Note: U nless otherwise stated, all growth rates in this statement are LFL (like - for - like) net fees, representing year - on - year organic growth of continuing operations (1) at constant currency , and excluding country closures and exits . Strong progress e xecuting our Momentum strategy at pace • Twelfth consecutive positive quarter of c onsultant net fee productivity growth , up 8 % , underpinned by a 4 % increase in average candidate salary and our investments in technology and people • Strategic partnership with Synthesia to scale skills development, accelerate AI adoption, and examine consultant performance drivers . Th is AI platform is a key enabler of the Hays Academy and our digital initiatives • Phased go - live of our proprietary OneTouch 26 CRM system across Europe following successful deployment in APAC , support ing our AI agent and Search & Match initiatives • G ood progress exploring strategic options relating to Belgium, Brazil, Greater China, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Singapore, and UAE, and we are in advanced discussions for several of these businesses O perational and Financial performance in Q127 • Group net fees down 3 % w ith Temp & Contracting and Perm down 1 % and 7 % respectively • Group Temp & Contracting volumes and average hours worked in Germany remain stable and in line with expectations . Perm remain s mixed but stable overall • Good progress with our i nitiatives to deliver further structural cost savings of c.£ 5 0 m per annum in FY27 • c.£ 4 5 m n et debt (3 0 June 202 6 : £ 20.1 m net cash ) is in line with our expectations Mark Dearnley , Chief Executive Officer , commented: “ O ur recently introduced Momentum strategy addresses the future hiring needs of our clients, sharpens our focus and captures the benefits associated with market leadership. T here is real energy a cross the Group , and I would like to thank our colleagues for their positive engagement and rapid execution . In line with our expectations, t he decline in Group net fees eased to 3 % in Q1 driven by good Temp & Contracting growth in several of our countries. Perm activity remains mixed with sustained strong growth in North America but ongoing fragility in Northern Europe . Our medium term target s can be achie ved through our own actions and we were pleased to make continued good progress with our structural cost and productivity initiatives during the quarter. ” (1) We completed the disposal of Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, and Sweden on 16 June 2026 .
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3 Group Q 1 trading : Temp & Contracting stable, Perm mixed , and North America returned to growth Group net fees decreased by 3 % YoY on a like - for - like basis. On an actual basis, net fees decreased by 5 % due to our previously communicated action to close our operations in Thailand and Mexico and divest in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Luxembourg, Romania, and Sweden , partially offset by a weakening of sterling versus the Australian Dollar . Temp & Contracting net fees decreased by 1 % as volumes remained sequentially stable and the decline in average hours worked in Germany was in line with our expectations and stable during the quarter. The YoY decline in Group Temp & Contracting volumes eased to 3 % including Germany down 2 %, UK&I down 7 %, ANZ down 9 %, and R o W up 5 %. The latter once again included strong net fee performance s in several of our countries , with Japan up 67 %, Spain up 26 %, and USA up 3 % . The aggregate impact of price, mix and German hours worked was plus 2 % . Perm net fees decreased by 7 %, driven by a 1 2 % decline in volumes as markets remained mixed but stable overall with ongoing fragility in Northern Europe and good growth in Southern Europe and North America . T he Group average P erm fee was up 5 % supported by our actions to target higher salary roles . Strong progress executing our Momentum strategy at pace Momentum is a focused growth strategy delivered through market leadership in a narrower country portfolio and six global specialisms, placing high - skilled roles in target industries. It is g uided by our clients’ feedback that our consultant - led approach is the critical element of our service they wish to retain . Through Momentum we will deliver a positive structural shift in our profitability, cash flow and return on capital employed as our greater focus and digital processes drive a swift and precise candidate search & match, a more than 50% increase in consultant net fee productivi ty over the medium term and lower cost to serve in our middle and back office functions. Over time, we believe we will return to a 25%+ conversion rate . We have executed at pace in Q1. We commen c ed the p hased go - live of our proprietary OneTouch 26 CRM system across Europe following s uccessful deployment in APAC, which will support our AI agent and Search & Match initiatives . In addition, we recently signed a strategic partnership with Synthesia to scale skills development, accelerate AI adoption, and examine consultant performance drivers. This AI platform is a key enabler of the Hays Academy and our digital initiatives. Re shaping our country portfolio We are making good progress exploring strategic options relating to Belgium, Brazil, Greater China, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Singapore, and UAE, and we are in advanced discussions for several of these businesses . Over the last year, we have reshaped our country portfolio as we focus on building scale in high performing and high potential markets where we have an ability to establish and grow leading positions. Going forward, Hays will focus on 16 core countries .
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4 The twel f th consecutive quarter of consultant net fee productivity growth We continue to target higher paid roles for candidates, leverage our AI agents to improve efficiency and data quality, invest in the best tools for our consultants , and forensically allocate consultants to business lines with the most attractive productivity and long - term structural growth opportunity . These actions delivered 8 % growth in average consultant net fee productivity including notable increases in Germany and the UK&I , up 1 1 % and 10 % respectively. O n a seasonally adjusted basis, net fee productivity has increased now for twelve consecutive quarters. Excluding the impact of country disposals and exits, g roup consultant headcount decreased by 1 % sequentially in the quarter and by 9 % year - on - yea r. Good progress with o ur structural cost savings programme We have made good progress with our initiatives to deliver further structural cost savings of c.£50m per annum in FY27 . We have achieved c. £ 10 m in Q1 and, i n total, have now delivered c.£ 125 m per annum of structural savings since the start of FY24 . Future country disposals will reduce our c osts further but we have not classified this as a structural saving. O ur n on - consultant headcount exited the quarter down 1 5 % YoY . Trading outlook Our September net fee growth rate was minus 2 % and w e expect stable market conditions in the near term with greater resilience in Temp & Contracting than in Perm. W e continue to relentlessly focus on our structural cost and productivity initiatives , supported by i nvest ment s in our digital platforms , as we create the ‘talent workspace of the future’ , and our colleagues , as we seek to achieve o ur medium term target s through our own actions. There are no material working - day impacts anticipated in Q2 27 .
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5 Divisional Net Fee Analysis Temp & Contracting Perm Total % of Divisional net fees LFL % of Divisional net fees LFL % of Group net fees LFL Germany 8 5 % ( 5 )% 1 5 % ( 8 )% 32 % ( 6 )% United Kingdom & Ireland 59 % ( 3 ) % 41 % ( 9 )% 20 % ( 5 ) % Australia & New Zealand 7 0 % ( 2 )% 30 % ( 6 ) % 14 % ( 3 )% Rest of World 48 % 8 % 52 % ( 7 )% 34 % 0 % Total 65 % ( 1 ) % 35 % ( 7 )% 100 % ( 3 ) % Germany: A stable performance overall Germany net fees were down 6 %. Temp & Contracting net fees decreased by 5 % with volumes down 2 % and a further 3 % impact from negative hours and mix. Contracting v olumes increased modestly YoY, aided by fewer terminations, and average hours worked remained stabl e through the quarter. Temp volumes were sequentially stable . Perm remained challenging but stable sequential ly through the quarter and the YoY decline in net fees eased to 8 % . Our largest specialism of Technology, 37 % of Germany net fees, was up 3% versus prior year with our second largest, Engineering, down 23 %. Finance was down 9 %. Construction & Property performed strongly again and increased by 28 % driven by our focus on infrastructure and the energy sector. Public sector net fees, which represented 18 % of Germany, w ere down 3% versus prior year . Consultant headcount decreased by 2 % in the quarter and by 16 % year - on - year. Consultant net fee productivity increased by 1 1 %, d riven by our ongoing focus on resource allocation , and we made good progress with our structural cost savings initiatives . United Kingdom & Ireland: Resilient Temp & Contracting Net fees in the United Kingdom & Ireland decreased by 5 % . Temp & Contracting declined by 3 % but Perm remained subdued, down 9 % . The Private sector ( 73 % of UK&I net fees) declined by 6 % with the Public sector down 3 %. At the specialism level, Finance and Construction & Property increased by 2% and 1% respectively , while Technology decreased by 2% . Office Support was down 1 % as our actions to target higher salary roles continue to broadly offset lower volumes in junior roles. C onsultant headcount reduced by 4 % in the quarter and by 1 3 % year - on - year. C onsultant net fee productivity growth accelerated to 10 % and we made further progress in improving our operational efficiency and cost structure. Australia & New Zealand: Perm remains s lightly more challenging Net fees in Australia & New Zealand fell by 3 % with Temp & Contracting again down 2 %, but Perm remained slightly more challenging and was down 6 %. Private sector net fees, 68 % of ANZ, increased by 3 %, but the Public sector was again tougher and down 14 %.
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6 Australia net fees were down 3 % . Our largest regions of New South Wales and Victoria , which together represented 45 % of Australia net fees, decreased by 14 % and 1 % respectively driven by large Enterprise clients and the Public sector . ACT fell by 10 % and Queensland by 2% . Western Australia was up 1 6 % supported by improved activity in the resources and mining sector . New Zealand, 5 % of ANZ net fees, remained challenging although the decline in net fees eased to 5 %. At the ANZ specialism level, net fee growth in Construction & Property ( our largest at 26 % of ANZ net fees) accelerated to 5 % and Resources & Mining grew by 10 %. Technology and Finance were down by 4 % and 2 % respectively. Consultant headcount was up 1 % in the quarter but decreased b y 4 % year - on - year. Consultant net fee productivity increased by 3 % to a nine - year high, driven by our focus on resource allocation , and we continue to make good progress with our cost programme. Rest of World: Americas back to growth ; Good growth in A sia ; EMEA still mixed Net fees in our Rest of World division, currentl y comprising 18 countries , were flat with Temp & Contracting up 8 % and Perm down 7 %. Our actual growth rate includes the impact from our previously communicated action to close our operations in Thailand and Mexico and the disposal of our operations in six European countries in June 2026 . EMEA ex - Germany ( 58 % of RoW) net fees decreased by 5 %. France, our largest RoW country, remained challenging with net fees down 1 6 % as weakness in Perm offset growth in Temp & Contracting . Portugal , up 4 2 %, achieved record quarterly net fees and Spain performed strongly again , up 15 % , with a record Q1. Poland grew by 5 % . Italy and Switzerland were down 5 % and 2% respectively. The Americas ( 23 % of RoW) net fees increased by 9 % driven by strong growth in Construction & Property , the mobilisation of recent Solutions contract wins , and strong consultant net fee productivity . T he U S and Canada grew by 8 % and 12 % respectively. Asia ( 19 % of RoW) net fees in creased by 6 % . Japan grew by 2 % drive n by strong growth in our Temp & Contracting business , despite public holiday headwinds over the summer , whi le Greater China grew by 2 7 % with improved activity in Perm . RoW consultant headcount was up 1 % in the quarter but decreased by 3 % year - on - year . Cash flow and balance sheet c.£ 4 5 m net debt ( 30 June 2026: £20.1m net cash ) is in line with our expectations and reflect s normal seasonal cashflows , cash exceptional payments, and share purchases related to our non - dilutive all - colleague share award . Enquiries Hays plc James Hilton Chief Financial Officer + 44 (0) 203 978 2520 Kean Marden Head of Investor Relations & M&A + 44 (0) 333 010 7092 FGS Global Guy Lamming / James Gray / Edward Treadwell hays@fgsglobal.com
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7 Conference call James Hilton and Kean Marden will conduct a conference call for analysts and investors at 9:00am United Kingdom time on 1 2 th October 202 6 . Participants are invited to register via the URL link below: https://register - conf.media - server.com/register/BIef72d95afb8f4829aa678fe9986dfd21 Once registered, you will receive a confirmation email, with the details of the call and a personal login link and PIN which will place you directly into the call, without the need to speak to an operator. The call will be recorded and will also be available for playback via the results centre on our investor website . Reporting calendar Trading update for the quarter ending 3 1 December 2026 (Q 2 2 7 ) 14 January 202 7 Interim results for the six months ending 3 1 December 2026 ( H1 2 7 ) 26 February 202 7 Trading update for the quarter ending 3 1 March 202 7 (Q 3 2 7 ) 15 April 202 7 Hays Group overview As at 3 0 September 202 6 , Hays had 8, 0 00 employees in 155 office s in 2 3 countries. Our consultants work in a broad range of industries and o ur four largest specialisms of Technology (2 6 % of Group net fees), Finance (1 8 %), Construction & Property (1 4 %) and Engineering (1 0 %) collectively represented 6 8 % of Group net fees in FY2 6 . In Q 1 2 7 , the Group’s net fees were generated 6 5 % from Temp & Contracting and 3 5 % from Permanent placement markets. Purpose, Net Zero, Equity and our Communities Our purpose is to benefit society by investing in lifelong partnerships that empower people and organisations to succeed, creating opportunities and improving lives. Our valued behaviours underpin our proactive and bold approach to how we do business, whil e recognising the importance of acting with integrity. We champion our customers and our communities, realising the benefit of shared - value creation as a key driver for a more sustainable and equitable future. Linked to this and our commitment to Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) matters, Hays has shaped its Sustainability Framework around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs), and further details can be found on pages 42 - 63 of our FY2 6 Annual report . Hays is proud to be a part of the FTSE4Good Index Series. Cautionary statement This Quarterly Update (the “Report”) has been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is not audited. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in rela tion to the accuracy, fairness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this Report. Statements in this Report reflect the knowledge and information available at the time of its preparation. Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this Report may constitute “forward - looking statements” in respect of the Group’s operations, performance, prospects and/or financial condition. By their nature, forward - looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and
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8 assumptions and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance shall not be placed on any forward - looking statement. Additionally, forward - looking statements regarding past trends or activities shall not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The informat ion contained in this Report is subject to change without notice and no responsibility or obligation is accepted to update or revise any forward - looking statement resulting from new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this Report shall be c onstrued as a profit forecast. This Report does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distr ibution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company or any invitation or inducement to engage in inv estment activity under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Liability arising from anything in this Report shall be governed by English Law, and neither the Comp any nor any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this Report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with this Report. Noth ing in this Report shall exclude any liability under applicable laws that cannot be excluded in accordance with such laws. LEI code: 213800QC8AWD4BO8TH08