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RWS HoldingsAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 5602B  RWS Holdings PLC  23 April 2026

For immediate
release
23 April 2026

 

RWS Holdings plc

Half Year Trading Statement

First half strategic progress and organic growth underpin full year
expectations

RWS Holdings plc (AIM: RWS.L) ("RWS", "the Group"), a global AI solutions
company empowering the world's most trusted enterprise AI, today provides an
update on trading for the six months ended 31 March 2026 ("the first half"),
ahead of the announcement of its half year results on 11 June 2026.

First half performance

Reported revenue is expected to be approximately £360m, a c.5% increase on
prior year. Organic constant currency ("OCC")¹ revenue grew by c.7% in the
period. In line with our strategic focus, our Generate and Protect segments
are powering Group growth, while we pivot the Transform segment.

Generate delivered strong double-digit OCC¹ revenue growth, with an
exceptional performance in the TrainAI business unit driven by additional
programmes with existing clients and initial revenues from a new technology
client. We expect this segment to sustain strong growth, as anticipated, in
the second half. Transform's OCC¹ revenue declined, in line with our
guidance, as we work towards pivoting the segment to technology-first
solutions. It is positioned well for the second half with new clients. In
Protect, we saw good OCC¹ revenue growth, driven by further strong
performance in the Renewals business, as expected. Growing momentum in the
second quarter gives us confidence for the second half of the year.

Adjusted profit before tax ("PBT") is expected to be approximately £24m (H1
FY25: £18m), supported by our on-going efficiency programme, and in line with
our expected weighting of the Group's performance across the year. Cash
generation continues to be strong. On 31 March 2026, the Group had net debt²
of approximately £33m, after payment during the first half of the £17m final
dividend for FY25.

Ben Faes, CEO of RWS, commented:

"The Group has made good progress during the first half, executing against the
strategic priorities outlined at our full-year 2025 results. Our performance
reflects the initial positive impacts of our new operating model and we have
achieved important milestones across our three strategic pillars.

"In our first pillar, accelerating our go-to-market, our refreshed approach is
yielding results. We have been successful in winning new clients across our
three segments, including two significant new logos for our Train AI business,
demonstrating clear market traction.

"In our second pillar, leading on innovation, we launched Language Weaver Pro,
a key step in providing advanced AI translation solutions. We were delighted
that our leadership in this field was recognised by Cohere, a leader in
security-first enterprise AI and our strategic partner in building this new
model for business-critical content. The development of our new platform for
Transform is also on track, with a client-validated proof of concept achieved
and work now underway on a minimum viable product. Furthermore, we secured two
AI-based patents that support enhanced translation productivity, reinforcing
our unique technology leadership.

"Finally, in our third pillar of improving efficiencies, we continue to
rationalise processes, scale our offshore delivery centres and implement more
optimised workflows across the organisation.

"These steps are the building blocks for delivering our vision to be the
cultural intelligence layer for enterprise AI. Whilst we are conscious of the
geopolitical environment, we remain laser-focused on the rigorous execution of
our plan. Momentum continues to build, underpinning our expectations for a
full year performance in line with guidance."

 

Language Weaver Pro

On 25 March RWS launched Language Weaver Pro, the largest dedicated
translation model in production. Developed in partnership with Cohere,
Language Weaver Pro ranked first in 31 of 32 languages in benchmarking tests,
outperforming industry-leading AI translation tools - including DeepL and
Gemini - across both sentence- and paragraph-level datasets in factual and
more challenging marketing-related content,

Aidan Gomez, CEO and Co-founder of Cohere said, "RWS is pushing the boundaries
of what's possible in enterprise translation. By building on Cohere's secure
frontier AI technology, they can capture meaning, nuance, and context across
languages in a way that reflects how people and businesses actually
communicate. High-quality translation is essential infrastructure for global
businesses operating across borders."

FY26 outlook

We expect FY26 performance to be in line with market expectations and existing
guidance, with low single digit revenue growth on an OCC basis, improving
profitability and continued strong free cash flow conversion.

Historic financial information for new reporting segments

As set out in June 2025, RWS moved to three new reporting segments with effect
from the current financial year (Generate, Transform, Protect). RWS has
published historical financial results for FY25 and FY24 for these reporting
segments, which are available here
(https://www.rws.com/about/investors/results-and-reports/) . There is no
change to the Group's historic results.

 

Notes:

¹              Adjusted to reflect a like-for-like comparison
between reporting periods and assumes constant currency across both reporting
periods.

² Net cash/net debt comprises cash and cash equivalents less loans but before
deducting lease liabilities.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 RWS Holdings plc

 Benjamin Faes, Chief Executive Officer

 Stephen Lamb, Chief Financial Officer                01628 410100

 MHP (Financial PR advisor)                           rws@mhpgroup.com (mailto:rws@mhpgroup.com)

 Katie Hunt / Eleni Menikou                           07884 494112

 Deutsche Numis (Nomad & Joint Broker)

 Stuart Skinner / William Wickham                     020 7260 1000

 Berenberg (Joint Broker)

 Ben Wright / Toby Flaux / Mike Burke / Milo Bonser   020 3207 7800

 

About RWS:

RWS is a global AI solutions company empowering the world's most trusted
enterprise AI.

Our proprietary Cultural Intelligence Layer, powered by 250,000 data
specialists, cultural and language experts and deep domain professionals,
backed by 45+ patents, makes enterprise AI culturally fluent, contextually
accurate and secure, ensuring every interaction reflects a brand's tone,
context and customer values.

Through our Generate, Transform and Protect segments, we deliver intelligent
content, enterprise knowledge, large-scale localisation and IP protection for
global growth. Trusted by 80+ of the world's top 100 brands, RWS provides the
confidence, governance and expertise organisations need to deploy AI safely,
responsibly and at scale.

Headquartered in the UK, RWS is listed on AIM (RWS.L).

For further information, please visit: www.rws.com
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r06/___http:/www.rws.com/___.ZXV3MjpuZXh0MTU6YzpvOjg4YTBjNGJmZGY1YzBiMDMyYjM0OTA4ZjBhNTc2NjIwOjc6NGJlNDo4NjI3YjAzMzNjMzQ0M2Y4MjYxMzI4MDE3ZWIyNzVhYjliZGM0YWZiOGQ4Y2ZjYzFlODBmZTM4MjkyNWYwNDhmOnA6VDpU)
.
(https://protect.checkpoint.com/v2/r06/___http:/www.rws.com/___.ZXV3MjpuZXh0MTU6YzpvOjg4YTBjNGJmZGY1YzBiMDMyYjM0OTA4ZjBhNTc2NjIwOjc6NGJlNDo4NjI3YjAzMzNjMzQ0M2Y4MjYxMzI4MDE3ZWIyNzVhYjliZGM0YWZiOGQ4Y2ZjYzFlODBmZTM4MjkyNWYwNDhmOnA6VDpU)
 

 

Click here (https://www.rws.com/language-weaver/pro/) for more information on
Language Weaver Pro.

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