Slide 1: 2025 full-year results
2025 full-year results Wednesday 11 March 2026 Global Talent Solutions Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 1
Slide 2: Key messages: Continued self-help and focus on balance sheet strength
Key messages: Continued self-help and focus on balance sheet strength. Market opportunity remains significant and early signs of recovery in select markets. High conviction in the opportunity ahead of us. Robert Walters plays in a significant market with long-term growth drivers. Business positioned
Slide 3: 2025 financials and balance sheet actions
2025 financials and balance sheet actions Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 3
Slide 4: Group financial summary: Macro turbulence impacted net fees
Group financial summary: Macro turbulence impacted net fees. Focus through the year on both the cyclical and structural element of the cost base. Nil dividend with balance sheet strengthening in mind. • 14%* (£47m in reported terms) % CC reduction in Group net fees £m unless otherwise stated 2025 20
Slide 5: Operating costs: £27.1m reduction in operating costs
Operating costs: £27.1m reduction in operating costs, supported by structural savings and after absorbing £4.4m of redundancy costs. Exited 2025 with sub-£24m monthly cost run rate. Group operating cost breakdown Group operating cost bridge 2025 2024 – 2025 • Average Group headcount £m 100% £27.1m r
Slide 6: Cash and balance sheet: Balance sheet remains supportive
Cash and balance sheet: Balance sheet remains supportive for the business at 2025 closing net cash levels. Focused actions to further optimise cash. Group cashflow £(14.6)m free cash flow 2025 £m • £50m net cash target set as 25.0 4.3 52.5 optimal on entering market (1.4) downturn. 2025 closing net
Slide 7: Market opportunity and strategic focus
Market opportunity and strategic focus Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 7
Slide 8: Significant addressable market
Significant addressable market: Strong track record in perm recruitment. Complementary services enable us to access a market of over £60bn in net fee income terms. We service an attractive global market, estimated at over £60bn in net fee income terms… • Permanent Robert Walters total addressable ma
Slide 9: Our right to win: Growing share in targeted regions
Our right to win: Growing share in targeted regions within our current addressable market, and investing to expand our future addressable market. Clear opportunity to grow share in Robert Walters – current and future 1 Building out talent advisory perm in what remains a highly addressable market NFI
Slide 10: Strategic focus: Two organic growth levers and operational improvement
Strategic focus: Two organic growth levers and a clear programme of operational improvement to unlock greater efficiency and a higher conversion rate than the post-GFC peak* of 15%. 1 Geographic penetration, not expansion: 2 Service line diversification: More disciplined country portfolio management
Slide 11: Early signs of cyclical recovery
Early signs of cyclical recovery Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 11
Slide 12: Early signs of cyclical recovery (1): Internal trading trends
Early signs of cyclical recovery (1): Evident from our internal trading trends. UK specialist recruitment NFI Spain specialist recruitment NFI New Zealand specialist recruitment NFI 120 Rolling 12 months Rolling 12 months Rolling 12 months 110 12 months ending 2Q19 = 100 110 170 12 months ending 2Q1
Slide 13: Early signs of cyclical recovery (2): External lead indicators
Early signs of cyclical recovery (2): External lead indicators also point towards recovery in UK, Spain and New Zealand. However stabilisation yet to show up in northern Europe as 2025 closed. UK job adverts Spain job adverts New Zealand job adverts Source: Indeed Source: Indeed Source: SEEK Feb 202
Slide 14: Guidance: Early 2026 trading in-line with expectations
Guidance: Early 2026 trading in-line with the Board’s expectations. Planning assumption remains for 2026 Group net fees to be slightly below 2025. Trading over first two months of 2026 in-line with the Board’s expectations, in seasonally lighter part of the year. Conviction remains strong that recov
Slide 15: Operationally stronger business
Operationally stronger business Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 15
Slide 16: Recruitment outsourcing: reduced cost to serve, more focused product set
Recruitment outsourcing: reduced cost to serve, more focused product set and more robust renewal pricing have laid the foundations for return to profitability in the medium-term. More resilient trading performance with Retained clients now comprise vast Now competing strongly for new retained client
Slide 17: Talent advisory: refining the operating model
Talent advisory: refining the operating model so the business can be scaled as efficiently as possible Most valuable source of leads is internal Team’s efforts continue to support good Global collaboration day 2026… referrals… performance… Talent advisory NFI by lead channel 2025 49% c.40% Talent ad
Slide 18: Consultancy: Growing strongly
Consultancy: Growing strongly (2025 net fees +20% YoY) and well-positioned for key trends that will continue to shape professional work. Positive trends across all operational KPIs in 2025… Driving awareness of consultancy in our marketing… Growth in average Change in bench number of costs v. 2024 c
Slide 19: Underlying structural drivers: Specialist recruitment
Specialist recruitment: 83% of Group net fees. Operational improvements here will have the greatest near-term impact on Group performance. Fee earner productivity remains key to the Using the four-box model to drive how we think and act model… regarding specialist recruitment portfolio… Global speci
Slide 20: Changing world of work
Changing world of work Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 20
Slide 21: Changing world of work (1): AI and professional work
Changing world of work (1): We believe change in the world of professional work will present opportunities for our relationship-based, technology- enabled business model. The specialist recruitment service line is As with previous technological advances, AI could likely drive net job creation… posit
Slide 22: Changing world of work (2): Wide range of outcomes possible
Changing world of work (2): A wide range of outcomes remains possible, but human, non-automatable, skills likely become more, not less, important in an AI-enabled future of professional work. Change likely reinforces some continuity in Current focus areas… how hiring is done… • Does the boom in job
Slide 23: Conclusion: Significant market opportunity, early signs of recovery
Conclusion: Significant market opportunity, early signs of recovery in some markets and operationally stronger business. We enacted self-help measures and took actions with balance sheet strength in mind. Market opportunity remains significant, underpinned by long-term drivers and with our total tal
Slide 24: Appendix
Appendix Robert Walters plc – 2025 full-year results | 24
Slide 25: Group trading summary
Group trading summary Group net fee income CC* 2025 2024 Chg. £m unless otherwise stated Chg. Specialist recruitment** 228.1 267.3 (15%) (13%) Of which permanent 148.8 173.8 (14%) (13%) Of which temporary 75.8 90.9 (17%) (16%) Perm % mix 65% 65% - n/a Temp % mix 33% 34% (1) pp n/a Recruitment outsou
Slide 26: Asia-Pacific: 2025 summary
Asia-Pacific: 2025 summary Specialist recruitment fee income mix £m unless otherwise stated 2025 2024 Chg. CC* Chg. 2025 Net fee income 121.2 138.8 (13%) (10%) Other Asia- Specialist professional recruitment** 111.8 125.0 (11%) (8%) Mainland China Pacific Recruitment outsourcing 9.4 13.8 (32%) (30%)
Slide 27: Europe: 2025 summary
Europe: 2025 summary Specialist recruitment fee income mix £m unless otherwise stated 2025 2024 Chg. CC* Chg. 2025 Net fee income 81.9 105.7 (22%) (23%) Other Europe Specialist professional recruitment** 81.5 104.9 (22%) (23%) 7% Germany Recruitment outsourcing 0.4 0.8 (44%) (45%) 8% France Spec. pr
Slide 28: UK: 2025 summary
UK: 2025 summary Specialist recruitment fee income mix 2025 £m unless otherwise stated 2025 2024 Chg. Net fee income 47.4 50.4 (6%) Specialist professional recruitment* 22.1 20.9 6% Recruitment outsourcing 25.3 29.5 (14%) Spec. professional recruitment Perm % mix 74% 72% 2 pp Regions 41% Spec. profe
Slide 29: Rest of World: 2025 summary
Rest of World: 2025 summary Specialist recruitment fee income mix 2025 £m unless otherwise stated 2025 2024 Chg. CC* Chg. Other Rest of World 8% Net fee income 23.7 26.5 (10%) (7%) Mexico 11% Specialist professional recruitment 12.7 16.5 (23%) (20%) Recruitment outsourcing 11.0 10.0 10% 13% Spec. pr
Slide 30: Investment case: the most trusted talent solutions business
Investment case: we aspire to be the most trusted talent solutions business and are targeting a conversion rate in excess of the previous post-GFC peak, underpinning a capital-light and cash-generative model Full suite of solutions enables us to support clients with all their talent challenges, help