Hays Plc · LSE:HAS
Hays — H1 2026 Earnings Presentation
60 slides from Hays's earnings presentation, February 2026
Slide 1: Half-Year Results for the Six Months Ended 31 December 2025
HALF -YEAR RESULTS FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2025 #CreateTomorrowTogether
Slide 2: Cautionary Statement
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT This presentation contains certain statements that number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions and constitute a recommendation regarding the shares are neither reported financial results nor other actual results or events may differ materially from of the Company or any invit
Slide 3: Agenda
AGENDA 1 OPERATIONAL & STRATEGIC REVIEW 2 FINANCIAL REVIEW 3 CURRENT TRADING 4 STRATEGY 5 Q&A 3
Slide 4: Operational & Strategic Review
1. OPERATIONAL & STRATEGIC REVIEW
Slide 5: Good Strategic Progress & Decisive Action to Improve Productivity
GOOD STRATEGIC PROGRESS & DECISIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY Net Fees Operating Profit Strategic Progress • Group net fees down 9% to £453.3m • Operating profit ‡ down 25% to £20.1m • Executing well against our Five Levers strategy • Temp & Contracting net fees • Conversion rate down 70bps to 4
Slide 6: Germany – Financial overview
SEQUENTIALLY STABLE VOLUMES THROUGH H1 BUT LOWER HOURS WORKED; ACTION TAKEN TO IMPROVE H2 PERFORMANCE Germany – Financial overview Six months to 31 Actual LFL H1 26 share Net fees down 11% ; operating profit ‡ down 28% December 2025 2024 growth growth of Group £ Net fees £145.5m £157.1m (7)% (11)% 3
Slide 7: UK & Ireland – Financial overview
OUR ACTIONS HAVE DRIVEN A RETURN TO PROFITABILITY UK & Ireland (UK&I) – Financial overview Six months to 31 Actual LFL H1 26 share Net fees down 9% ; operating profit ‡ £2.0m, up 131% December 2025 2024 growth growth of Group • Temp & Contracting net fees decreased by 8% with relative resilience in
Slide 8: Australia & New Zealand – Financial overview
FOCUS ON OPERATIONAL RIGOUR & COSTS DRIVES IMPROVED PROFIT PERFORMANCE Australia & New Zealand (ANZ) – Financial overview Six months to 31 Actual LFL H1 26 share Net fees down 3% ; operating profit ‡ up 223% December 2025 2024 growth growth of Group £ Net fees £55.9m £60.4m (7)% (3)% 12% • Temp & Co
Slide 9: Rest of World – Financial overview
LOSS - MAKING DUE TO CHALLENGING MARKETS IN NORTHERN EUROPE Rest of World ( RoW ) – Financial overview Six months to 31 Actual LFL H1 26 share Net fees down 10% ; operating loss ‡ down 292% December 2025 2024 growth growth of Group • Temp & Contracting more resilient, net fees down 3%, but five of o
Slide 10: Financial Review
2. FINANCIAL REVIEW
Slide 11: Operating Profit Down 25%, Cash Generation Remains Strong
‡ OPERATING PROFIT DOWN 25%, CASH GENERATION REMAINS STRONG ‡ ‡ Net fees Operating profit Cash from Operations H1 22 £565.3m H1 22 £101.6m H1 22 £39.3m H1 23 £651.9m H1 23 £97.0m H1 23 £66.4m H1 24 £583.3m H1 24 £60.1m H1 24 £67.3m H1 25 £496.0m H1 25 £25.5m H1 25 £65.5m H1 26 £453.3m FY25 £20.1m H1
Slide 12: EPS Down 43% Income Statement
Basic EPS‡ (p) EPS ‡ DOWN 43%. DRIVEN BY LOWER OPERATING PROFIT, HIGHER NET FINANCE CHARGE AND HIGHER EFFECTIVE TAX RATE H1 24 2.37 H1 25 0.81 H1 26 0.46 Income Statement Six months ended 31 December 2025 2024 Reported LFL* £m £m growth growth Turnover 3,252.5 3,365.4 (3)% (3)% Net fees 453.3 496.0
Slide 13: Net Fee Decline Driven by Lower Perm Volumes and Reduced Germany Working Hours
Drivers of net fees (£m) NET FEE DECLINE DRIVEN BY LOWER PERM VOLUMES AND REDUCED GERMANY WORKING HOURS Permanent net fees* Temp & Contracting net fees* (14)% Net fee decrease (7)% Net fee decrease (7)% Volume decrease (14)% Volume decrease (1)% Decrease in average hours worked £163.6m 0% Average Pe
Slide 14: Decisive Actions to Manage Cost Base and Protect Profitability
DECISIVE ACTIONS TO MANAGE COST BASE AND PROTECT PROFITABILITY H1 26 operating profit ‡ bridge (£m) Payroll • Consultant headcount reduced by 15% YoY • Non -consultant headcount reduced by 6% YoY • Commission and bonuses down £6.0m in line with net fee decline • Average pay increase of 2.5% from 1 J
Slide 15: c.£15M Per Annum Structural Cost Savings Secured in H1
c.£15M PER ANNUM STRUCTURAL COST SAVINGS SECURED IN H1, MAKING STRONG PROGRESS TOWARDS NEW FY29 c.£45M PER ANNUM TARGET Annualised cost reductions delivered in H1 26 (£m) Back - office • Achieved through our global Finance and efficiency Structural Technology Transformation programmes programmes • R
Slide 16: Consultant Productivity Up 7%, Growth for Nine Consecutive Quarters
CONSULTANT PRODUCTIVITY UP 7%, GROWTH FOR NINE CONSECUTIVE QUARTERS WHILE SECURING STRUCTURAL COST SAVINGS Net fees per consultant FY24 - H1 26 (£ per period) 13,000 115 Indexed to FY19 (RHS) 12,500 12,000 110 • Consultant net fee productivity increased by a sector 11,500 105 leading 7% YoY in H1 11
Slide 17: Exceptional Cost of £8.8 Million in H1 26
EXCEPTIONAL COST OF £8.8 MILLION IN H1 26 Six months ended 31 December 2025 (£m) Operating Profit Profit Net fees Tax EPS (p) profit before tax after tax H1 26 Pre - exceptional 453.3 20.1 13.4 (6.0) 7.4 0.46 Operational Restructuring - (7.3) (7.3) 1.7 (5.6) (0.35) Technology and Finance Transformat
Slide 18: Finance Charge and Taxation
SLIGHTLY HIGHER INTEREST CHARGE DRIVEN BY HIGHER RCF DRAWDOWN. HIGHER EFFECTIVE TAX RATE ‡ (ETR) of 44.8 % DRIVEN BY TAX LOSSES & DISALLOWABLES Finance charge and taxation Six months ended 31 December 2025 2024 Finance charge £m £m IFRS 16 interest on lease liabilities (non -cash) (2.4) (2.3) Net in
Slide 19: Strong Cash Performance, with 217% Cash Conversion
STRONG CASH PERFORMANCE, WITH 217% CASH CONVERSION Cash from operations* (£m) H1 24 67.3 H1 25 65.5 H1 26 43.7 Operating profit ‡ to free cash flow bridge (H1 26, £m) Uses of cash flow (H1 26) 217% cash conversion (H1 25: 257%) Capex £10.1m 14.5 (22.7) Purchase of own shares £1.2m (10.6) (4.1)
Slide 20: Debtor Days Improved Slightly and Remain Below Pre-Pandemic Levels
DEBTOR DAYS IMPROVED SLIGHTLY AND REMAIN BELOW PRE -PANDEMIC LEVELS Debtor days (Days Sales Outstanding) Cash position overview Closing net cash (£m) 236.9 NET CASH POSITION H1 26 ended with net cash of £40.3m 37 DEBTOR DAYS Improved to 36 days (H1 25: 37 days). Group 36 36 bad debt write -offs rema
Slide 21: A Strong Balance Sheet
A STRONG BALANCE SHEET Balance sheet analysis 31 Dec 30 Jun £m 2025 2025 NET WORKING CAPITAL Goodwill & intangibles 232.0 227.8 Strong working capital management, with H1 26 debtor days improving to 36 days Property, plant & equipment 20.7 21.6 (H1 25: 37 days), and below pre -pandemic levels Right
Slide 22: Dividend & Capital Allocation Framework
A DIVIDEND & CAPITAL ALLOCATION FRAMEWORK TO FUND GROWTH INITIATIVES, MAINTAIN A STRONG BALANCE SHEET AND GENERATE ATTRACTIVE RETURNS FOR SHAREHOLDERS H1 26 Interim Dividend Free cash flow priorities and capital allocation • Invest in consultant headcount, technology Fund Group investments and worki
Slide 23: Financial Summary
FINANCIAL SUMMARY Dividend and capital Fees Profits Cash & balance sheet allocation Net fees down 9% to £453.3m Operating profit ‡ down 25% to Strong cash generation Interim dividend of 0.15p £20.1m • Fees down 9%, as market • Decisive action to defend profits • Cash conversion** of 217% with • Cons
Slide 24: Current Trading
3. CURRENT TRADING
Slide 25: New Year Trading Has Been In-Line with Our Expectations
NEW YEAR TRADING HAS BEEN IN -LINE WITH OUR EXPECTATIONS • Our Temp & Contracting New Year ‘return to work’ has been solid overall and in -line with the prior year and our expectations. • In UK&I and ANZ, Temp volumes have returned modestly ahead of prior year and are now in -line with pre -Christma
Slide 26: Strategy
4. STRATEGY
Slide 27: Our Five Key Strategic Levers
OUR FIVE KEY STRATEGIC LEVERS Grow our leading Increase our focus on Greater focus on Build stronger Drive increased positions in most higher skilled, resilient and relationships with proportion of in-demand higher paid growing industries our clients and Temporary & future job roles and markets cand
Slide 28: Delivering Our Five Lever Strategy: UK&I
DELIVERING OUR FIVE LEVER STRATEGY UK&I; BUILDING A HIGH QUALITY, FOCUSED & PROFITABLE BUSINESS Strategic Progress Five Levers Net fees (£m) H1 22 128 • Growth in our average UK&I candidate salary accelerated from 5% YoY in Q1 to 8% YoY in Q2 H1 23 137 • A new STEM -focused leadership team establish
Slide 29: Delivering Our Five Lever Strategy: ANZ
DELIVERING OUR FIVE LEVER STRATEGY ANZ; DRIVING YOY PROFIT GROWTH IN A CHALLENGING MARKET Strategic Progress Five Levers Net fees (£m) H1 22 96 • Permanent placement fee and average Temp & Contracting fee H1 23 100 increased by 5% YoY in Q2 H1 24 74 • Technology has increased from 16% of net fees in
Slide 30: Delivering Our Five Lever Strategy: Spain
DELIVERING OUR FIVE LEVER STRATEGY SPAIN; RECORD PERFORMANCE & A PIVOT TO CONTRACTING Strategic Progress Five Levers Net fees (£m) H1 22 11 • 32% growth in Temp & Contracting net fees driven by client wins H1 23 13 and continued expansion into new specialisms. Temp & Contracting increased to 24% of
Slide 31: Repositioning & Reshaping the Business to Reinforce Our Competitive Position
REPOSITIONING & RESHAPING THE BUSINESS TO REINFORCE OUR STRONG COMPETITIVE POSITION Ambition Action • Invest in high potential, high performing • Closed several business lines, and reshaped business lines & scale back low potential our portfolio from 33 countries to 29 Align to Five Levers currently
Slide 32: Drivers of Long-Term Profit Recovery
DRIVERS OF LONG - TERM PROFIT RECOVERY Driving Improving Cyclical Consultant Net Operational Recovery Fee Productivity Efficiency • Business model • Higher skill/higher paid optimisation • Maintain operational roles rigour to deliver strong • Building efficient & • Optimal consultant scalable suppor
Slide 33: Appendix 1
APPENDIX 1 H1 26 Results supporting materials
Slide 34: Like-for-Like Summary
L IKE - FOR - LIKE SUMMARY Closures 2024 2024 (Chile & FX impact Organic 2025 LFL* Year ended 31 December 2025 Restated Colombia) £m £m £m £m £m growth Net fees Germany 157.1 - 157.1 6.1 (17.7) 145.5 (11)% United Kingdom & Ireland 97.4 - 97.4 0.2 (9.0) 88.6 (9)% Australia & New Zealand 60.4 - 60.4 (
Slide 35: Growth Analysis and Conversion Rate by Division
GROWTH ANALYSIS AND CONVERSION RATE BY DIVISION Net fee growth* Q3 24 Q4 24 H2 24 FY24 Q1 25 Q2 25 H1 25 Q2 25 Q3 25 H2 25 FY25 Q1 26 Q2 26 H1 26 versus same period last year Germany (13)% (17)% (16)% (7)% (13)% (13)% (13)% (9)% (5)% (7)% (10)% (7)% (14)% (11)% United Kingdom & Ireland (16)% (17)% (
Slide 36: Rest of World – H1 26 Performance by Country
REST OF WORLD – H1 26 PERFORMANCE BY COUNTRY Net fee No. of Consultant Country/Region Focus/Emerging Net fees (£m) Rest of World net fees growth* offices headcount France Focus 26.0 (20)% 16 364 USA Focus 21.9 (8)% 10 204 Switzerland Focus 14.3 (18)% 4 107 Benelux Emerging 13.9 (12)% 9 173 Other Fra
Slide 37: Consultant Headcount and Office Network
CONSULTANT HEADCOUNT AND OFFICE NETWORK Consultants Offices Half - on - half Year - on - year As at 31 As at 30 Change since As at 31 Change since As at 31 As at 30 Change since Dec 2025 Jun 2025 Jun 2025 Dec 2024 Dec 2024 Dec 2025 June 2025 Jun 2025 Germany 1,543 1,624 (5)% 1,784 (14)% 26 26 - Unit
Slide 38: Appendix 2
APPENDIX 2 Our markets
Slide 39: Global Recruitment Market Generated c.$220bn Net Fees in 2024
GLOBAL RECRUITMENT MARKET GENERATED c.$220BN NET FEES IN 2024 Hays currently has a mere 0.5% share of the global market Professional recruitment accounts for c.60% of the market 21 countries account for 95% of the global professional recruitment market Hays has a physical presence in 20 of the top 2
Slide 40: The Top 21 Countries Account for 95% of the Global Market
THE TOP 21 COUNTRIES ACCOUNT FOR 95% OF THE GLOBAL MARKET 2024 Staffing Net Fees by country Hays Key countries Germany UK Australia Hays Focus countries Austria France Italy Japan Poland Spain Switzerland USA Hays Emerging countries Belgium Netherlands Portugal Denmark Sweden Hungary Romania UAE Ire
Slide 41: Why Use an Agency?
WHY USE AN AGENCY? Recruitment hierarchy: Attempt to fill internally, advertise on own website, then use a job board or an agency • Traditional Agency – Hays, for example • RPO/MSP – Partial or full outsourcing of internal recruitment to a specialist provider • Hiring Platforms – Technology -led aut
Slide 42: Agencies Have Faster Time-to-Fill Due to Better Insights & Access to Passive Candidates
AGENCIES HAVE FASTER TIME - TO - FILL DUE TO BETTER INSIGHTS & ACCESS TO PASSIVE CANDIDATES 42
Slide 43: Agency Penetration Rate Varies Widely by Region
AGENCY PENETRATION RATE VARIES WIDELY BY REGION As % Hays H1 26 Net Fees 0% 20% 7% 73% >70% 40-70% 20-40% <20% • UK is the most mature market for recruitment services globally • Penetration rate in ANZ is closer to Asia than the UK • Penetration in Germany lags other major European economies Bubble
Slide 44: Our Strategy Is Designed to Capitalise on Powerful Workplace Megatrends
OUR STRATEGY IS DESIGNED TO CAPITALISE ON POWERFUL WORKPLACE MEGATRENDS Hays’ role is to help solve these problems for our clients and candidates 44
Slide 45: Appendix 3
APPENDIX 3 Our strategy, business model, investment case and capital allocation framework
Slide 46: A Balanced Portfolio
A BALANCED PORTFOLIO H1 26 net fees by category Public sector 16% Full Technology 26% Contracting 25% Germany 32% outsourced 25% Professional 33% A&F 15% PSL 20% UK&I 20% Perm 36% Engineering 10% C&P 12% Private sector ANZ 12% 84% Multiple Office Support 5% Technical 67% placements 35% Life Sciences
Slide 47: Significant Mix Shift Towards More Resilient, Structural Growth Specialisms
SIGNIFICANT MIX SHIFT TOWARDS MORE RESILIENT, STRUCTURAL GROWTH SPECIALISMS OVER LAST 15 YEARS Note: FY08 - FY10 Engineering net fees are estimated and were originally reported within C&P • Over the last 15 years we have moved away from more cyclical specialisms such as C&P and A&F • We now have gre
Slide 48: Our Divisional Exposures in Detail
OUR DIVISIONAL EXPOSURES IN DETAIL H1 26 net fees by category 11% 15% 5% 32% 35% 35% 41% 40% 54% 23% 11% 2% 7% 8% 9% 4% 64% 10% 1% 12% 8% 18% 17% 9% 20% 26% 11% 57% 49% 20% 11% 35% 26% 21% 20% 17% 16% Germany UK&I ANZ RoW Germany UK&I ANZ RoW Technology A&F C&P Engineering Office Support Life Scienc
Slide 49: High and Rising Salary Levels and a Substantial Enterprise Portfolio
HIGH AND RISING SALARY LEVELS AND A SUBSTANTIAL ENTERPRISE PORTFOLIO Enterprise clients – c.£225m of fees in FY25 What we mean by Enterprise clients • >40% of Group net fees are from clients who spend over £250k per annum with Hays. This represents our top 400 clients • We have outsourced contracts
Slide 50: Our Surplus Capital Allocation History
OUR SURPLUS CAPITAL ALLOCATION HISTORY • Return surplus cash to shareholders Core • Maintain a dividend that is affordable and through an appropriate combination appropriate Excess cash dividend of special dividends and share • Target core dividend cover of 2 -3x EPS returns policy buybacks, subject
Slide 51: Appendix 4
APPENDIX 4
Slide 52: Financial Archive – Net Fees, Operating Profit and Consultant Headcount
‡ FINANCIAL ARCHIVE – NET FEES, OPERATING PROFIT AND CONSULTANT HEADCOUNT £ Net fees by division (£m) £ Operating profit‡ by division (£m) 1,295 243 249 1,189 1,130 1,114 212 210 1,073 41 42 996 972 197 955 918 181 27 40 810 458 66 36 339 368 417 22 69 135 396 63 291 340 188 52 32 312 355 44 230 199
Slide 53: Germany Profile – 32% of Group Net Fees
GERMANY PROFILE – 32% OF GROUP NET FEES Snapshot - #1 market position* - Structurally developing market - Sectoral diversification Net fees by specialism (H1 26) £ Historical headline net fees (£m) £ Historical headline operating profit‡ (£m) 382 8% 352 8% 314 100 300 309 91 4% 276 86 35% 260 81 245
Slide 54: UK & Ireland Profile – 20% of Group Net Fees
UK & IRELAND PROFILE – 20% OF GROUP NET FEES Snapshot - #1 market position* - Diverse sector exposure - Nationwide coverage Net fees by specialism (H1 26) £ Historical headline net fees (£m) £ Historical headline operating profit‡ (£m) 52 47 49 7% 272 272 266 46 253 258 264 263 42 43 244 242 246 225
Slide 55: Australia & New Zealand Profile – 12% of Group Net Fees
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND PROFILE – 12% OF GROUP NET FEES, Snapshot WITH AUSTRALIA REPRESENTING 95% OF DIVISIONAL NET FEES - #1 market position* - Diverse sector experience - Geographical diversification Net fees by specialism (H1 26) £ Historical headline net fees (£m) £ Historical headline operating
Slide 56: Rest of World Profile – 36% of Group Net Fees
REST OF WORLD PROFILE – REPRESENTS 36% OF GROUP Snapshot NET FEES, WITH FRANCE OUR LARGEST RoW MARKET - Structural growth opportunities - Diverse sector exposure - Geographical diversification Net fees by specialism (H1 26) £ Historical headline net fees (£m) £ Historical headline operating profit‡
Slide 57: Financial Archive: Net Fees and Operating Profit (Local Currency)
FINANCIAL ARCHIVE NET FEES AND OPERATING PROFIT ‡ (LOCAL CURRENCY) $ Australia & New Zealand - Historical net fees (AUDm) $ Australia & New Zealand - Historical operating profit ‡ (AUDm) 347 359 359 323 337 134 321 293 305 116 120 120 274 288 263 273 268 106 232 245 232 98 95 88 90 91 80 83 72 58 22
Slide 58: Financial Archive: Quarterly Net Fee Growth
FINANCIAL ARCHIVE QUARTERLY NET FEE GROWTH % Germany % UK & Ireland 38% 39% 37% 48% 32% 29% 45% 26% 22% 23% 33% 29% 11% 22% 7% 0% 11% (5%) 4% (13%) (13%)(13%) (14%) (7%) (2%) (17%) (5%) (7%) (7%) (11%) (9%) (9%) (9%) (14%) (13%) (13%) (10%) (17%) (16%) (17%) (20%)(14%) (20%) (20%) (34%) (33%) (31%)
Slide 59: Financial Archive: Quarterly Net Fee and Consultant Growth
FINANCIAL ARCHIVE QUARTERLY NET FEE AND CONSULTANT GROWTH % Temp Net fees % Perm Net fees 67% 65% 61% 48% 24% 26% 22% 21% 16% 14% 31% 16% 9% 11% 7% 4% 0% (2%) (5%) (5%) (5%) (8%) (12%) (15%) (14%) (13%) (10%) (18%) (20%) (5%) (7%) (7%) (6%) (26%) (9%) (10%) (13%) (14%) (14%) (13%) (12%) (17%) (19%)
Slide 60: Further Information
FURTHER INFORMATION Kean Marden Head of Investor Relations & M&A Prash Gangatharan Investor Relations Manager ir@hays.com +44 (0)333 010 7092 For more information about the Group: haysplc.com/investors