REG - SThree plc - FY25 Final Results
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RNS Number : 4450Q SThree plc 27 January 2026
SThree plc
FINAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOvember 2025
FY25 PERFORMANCE IN LINE AND ENDING YEAR WITH ENCOURAGING MOMENTUM
TIP ROLLOUT COMPLETE, LAUNCH OF FURTHER SHARE BUYBACK
SThree plc ('SThree' or the 'Group'), the global STEM workforce consultancy,
today announces its financial results for the year ended 30 November 2025.
Continuing operations FY25 FY24 Variance
Reported Like-for-like ((1))
Revenue (£ million) 1,302.2 1,492.9 -13% -12%
Net fees (£ million) 322.7 369.1 -13% -12%
Operating profit (£ million) 26.1 66.2 -61% -60%
Operating profit conversion ratio 8.1% 17.9% -10% pts -10% pts
Profit before tax (£ million) 25.5 67.6 -62% -62%
Basic earnings per share (pence) 13.7 37.4 -63% -63%
Proposed final dividend per share (pence) 9.2 9.2 - -
Total dividend (interim and final) per share (pence) 14.3 14.3 - -
Net cash (£ million)((2)) 68.0 69.7 -2% -2%
((1)) Variance compares the reported results for FY25 against FY24 on a
constant currency basis, whereby the prior year foreign exchange rates are
applied to current and prior financial year results to remove the impact of
exchange rate fluctuations.
((2)) Net cash represents cash and cash equivalents less borrowings and
excluding leases.
FINANCIAL Highlights
· Group net fees declined by 12% YoY((3)) (FY24: YoY decline of 9%) in a
challenging macroeconomic environment. Notably, across the year, the rate of
decline improved sequentially each quarter, supported by the USA returning to
growth.
o Our three largest countries accounted for 72% of Group Net Fees: the USA grew
by 4%, while Germany and the Netherlands declined by 16% and 21% respectively.
o Skills: Engineering net fees declined by 6% YoY, with the performance
supported by strong demand in the USA. Life Sciences and Technology declined
by 13% and 18% YoY respectively, amid ongoing market uncertainty.
· Contract net fees, which represent 84% of Group net fees (FY24: 84%), declined 12% YoY. Softer new business activity earlier in the year offset the benefits of the recent improvement and the continued resilience in client extensions, which underline our strength in meeting our clients' needs to retain critical STEM skills and flexible talent.
· Permanent net fees, representing 16% of Group net fees (FY24: 16%), declined
9% YoY amid tough market conditions in most regions, but represented a
sequential year-on-year improvement versus FY24, supported by growth in the US
and Japan.
· Contractor order book((4)) of £156.6 million, down 2% YoY, continues to represent sector-leading visibility with the equivalent of circa five months' net fees.
· Profit before tax (PBT) of £25.5 million (down 62% YoY), in line with
expectations, as the challenging economic conditions continue to impact net
fees, partially offset by disciplined cost management. This included the FY25
efficiencies programme, which delivered net savings marginally ahead of plan.
TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME
· Technology Improvement Programme (TIP) successfully delivered across all 11
countries, on time and within budget.
· Early evidence of structural benefits, including an uplift to consultant productivity, improved sales engine quality, and greater operational velocity, alongside recurring efficiency gains.
· Provides a single platform that drives efficiency, positions the business for
scalable growth and will underpin improved margins as the market recovers.
CAPITAL ALLOCATION
· Strong balance sheet with net cash of £68.0 million at year end (FY24:
£69.7 million) after having returned £20.2 million to shareholders via a
share buyback completed earlier in the year.
· Final dividend proposed of 9.2 pence per share (FY24: 9.2 pence per share), taking full year dividend to 14.3 pence per share (FY24: 14.3 pence per share), underpinned by the strength of our balance sheet and reflective of the company's commitment to return excess capital to shareholders.
· In light of the Group's strong cash generation and balance sheet, the Board announces its intention to launch a further buyback programme of up to £20m, in line with its stated capital allocation policy.
Outlook
· FY25 ended with encouraging new business activity, albeit at historically
subdued levels, and good momentum in select markets, such as the USA,
underpinning our expectations for the year ahead.
· Our cost optimisation programme is progressing, with costs to deliver weighted
to H1 and the realisation of savings from H2, and our modest investment in
next-generation AI, whilst in its early stages, remains on track.
· As previously announced, the Board expects FY26 profit before tax to be c.£10
million.
· Despite the challenging extended market cycle, we have used this period to
build a lean, scalable operational backbone, positioning us well as market
conditions begin to improve.
((3)) All YoY growth rates expressed at constant currency.
((4)) The contractor order book represents value of net fees until contractual
end dates, assuming all contractual hours are worked.
Timo Lehne, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"In a year marked by ongoing macro uncertainty, the Group delivered FY25
results in line with expectations, alongside material operational
enhancements. We are pleased with the quality of our performance, underpinned
by robust extensions with existing clients, improving new placement activity,
and growth in two of our top five countries. This reflects the strategic value
of our specialist STEM workforce consultancy model, which continues to align
closely with critical skills demand across our markets. Following the
completion of the global rollout of our Technology Improvement Programme we
have reached a pivotal moment. We are now operating on integrated, scalable
digital infrastructure that is enhancing productivity, strengthening execution
discipline and positioning us well to capture opportunities as demand
stabilises.
"We enter the new year with cautious optimism. Early signs of improvement are
continuing in selected areas, our proposition remains well aligned to
long-term workforce demand trends, and our service capabilities have been
materially strengthened. Whilst new business remains challenging, and broader
market recovery is yet to materialise, the investments made in recent years
leave us well positioned to navigate the near-term environment and capitalise
on new growth opportunities."
Analyst conference call
SThree is hosting a conference call for analysts and investors today at 08:30
to present the Group's results for the financial year ended 30 November 2025.
If you would like to register for the webinar, please contact
SThree@almastrategic.com (mailto:SThree@almastrategic.com) .
Forward looking dates
The Group will present its FY26 Q1 Trading Update on 17 March 2026.
Enquiries:
SThree plc
Timo Lehne,
CEO
SThree@almastrategic.com (mailto:SThree@almastrategic.com)
Andrew Beach, CFO
Keren Oser, Investor Relations Director
Charlie Hildesley, Investor Relations Manager
Alma Strategic
Communications
+44 20 3405 0205
Rebecca
Sanders-Hewett
SThree@almastrategic.com (mailto:SThree@almastrategic.com)
Hilary Buchanan
Sam Modlin
Rose
Docherty
Notes to editors
SThree plc brings skilled people together to build the future. We are the
global STEM workforce consultancy, placing highly skilled, STEM specialist
workers in the industries where they are needed most. We advise businesses,
build expert teams, and deliver project solutions for our clients. With 40
years of experience in pure-play STEM and a global team with local expertise
across 11 countries, we cover high-demand skills across Engineering, Life
Sciences and Technology roles.
We provide permanent and flexible contract talent to a diverse base of around
6,000 clients. By combining advanced technology with expertise, we push beyond
traditional boundaries to deliver tailored solutions, leveraging data and
insight from our world-class operating platform.
Outpace tomorrow, together
Important notice
Certain statements in this announcement are forward looking statements. By
their nature, forward looking statements involve a number of risks,
uncertainties or assumptions that could cause actual results or events to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements.
Forward-looking statements regarding past trends or activities should not be
taken as representation that such trends or activities will continue in the
future. Certain data from the announcement is sourced from unaudited internal
management information and is before any exceptional items. Accordingly, undue
reliance should not be placed on forward looking statements.
CHair's statement
The past year has been another challenging period, as the widespread recovery
we were expecting did not fully materialise and market conditions remained
uncertain. Despite this uncertainty, our FY25 performance has been in line
with guidance set at the start of the year, and we have delivered growth in
two of our top five countries, USA and Japan. Pleasingly, we saw improved
momentum in new business activity through Q4, which gives us confidence that
the environment is stabilising and underpins the reiteration of FY26 PBT
guidance given in September 2025.
Our unique strategic focus on STEM skills and flexible talent, supported by
the global megatrends that are driving long-term demand for workers with these
specialist skills, gives us confidence that we are in the right markets and
focusing on the right sectors where we can make a real difference, drive
growth and increase market share. Whilst disruption is ongoing, organisations
will require more STEM talent across their workforce.
Building for the future of STEM talent
Notwithstanding the challenges that we have faced from the external
environment, we are incredibly pleased to have completed the rollout of our
TIP. We are proud and excited by what we have built and believe that it
provides a unique platform for growth, profitability and outperformance over
the coming years. Additionally, it should not be understated that we have
delivered this complex three-year programme on time and on budget.
Implementing change is never easy, so I would like to thank our teams around
the world for their patience and commitment throughout this process, and for
delivering these results. We have a dedicated and skilled workforce that are
well set to drive the business forward. I would also like to express thanks to
our shareholders and other stakeholders for their ongoing support during this
challenging macro-economic period as we continue to strive to deliver growth
and shareholder value over the mid-to-long term.
The Group has continued to take steps towards its long-term growth strategy.
We remain focused on our people, platform, proposition, places of work, and
ultimately our customers, as we look to grow market share by engaging existing
and new clients and candidates who value specialism at scale.
Prudent stewardship of capital
In line with the Group's capital allocation policy, the Board is proposing a
final dividend at 9.2 pence per share this year. This, combined with the
interim dividend of 5.1 pence per share, gives the total dividend for the year
of 14.3 pence per share. We remain committed to maximising shareholder value
while ensuring effective and pragmatic capital allocation across the Group
that allows us to deliver growth in net fees and margin, maintain a healthy
balance sheet, invest in our people and technologies and grow through
acquisition, should we find the right opportunity to do so.
Within the period, we returned approximately £20.2 million to shareholders
through our share buyback programme. Additionally, post-period end we are
pleased to announce the launch of an additional share buyback programme of up
to £20 million; we consider this to be in the best interests of the Company
and its shareholders, returning surplus capital to shareholders while
maintaining the financial flexibility to invest in the Group's strategy.
Commitment to strong governance
We were delighted to welcome both Paula Coughlan and Rosie Shapland as
Non-Executive Directors to the Board in April and November 2025 respectively.
Paula's experience in leading transformation programmes, together with her
strong management experience and ESG credentials, alongside Rosie's extensive
experience in audit and risk, and deep governance understanding, will serve to
strengthen the Board as it continues to execute its strategy.
Their appointments followed the retirement of Denise Collis, after nine years'
service, and the resignation of Elaine O'Donnell due to other business
commitments. On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank them for their
contribution to the Company and the commitment and insight they provided. We
wish them every success in the future.
Ending the year with positive momentum
Looking ahead, we have exited the year with a period of improving new
placement activity, complemented by continued resilient extensions. We are
focused on optimising what we have built through our TIP: an agile, digitally
enabled STEM workforce consultancy that is efficient, scalable and ready to
respond rapidly to new opportunities. This, alongside our strategic focus on
STEM and Contract means that we are well placed to return to growth and fully
capitalise when market conditions improve.
Chief executive officer's statement
Introduction: A defining year
FY25 was a year of resilience and change, and a disciplined execution against
our vision for SThree. Despite operating in persistently challenging global
talent markets, we delivered on the expectations we set at the start of the
year. This achievement reflects the strength of our strategy, the adaptability
of our people, and the trust placed in us by our clients and candidates.
We have used this year to build strength. We have maintained strategic
momentum through uncertain times and remained laser focused on building
towards our vision as game-changers in STEM workforce consulting. We have
improved our position to capture emerging pockets of growth - achieving a
return to growth in two of our top five countries - maintained sector-leading
visibility with a robust contract orderbook, and closed the year with a strong
balance sheet. We continued to prioritise areas of structural growth, ensuring
that we remain aligned with long-term market trends.
The successful conclusion this year of the TIP rollout across all 11 of our
countries marks a pivotal milestone in our journey. We are amongst few
organisations that can point to a programme of this scale completing on time,
within budget and delivering to an enhanced scope((5).) I am incredibly proud
of what we have achieved together over the three years of the programme and
would like to thank everyone for their commitment, persistence and resilience.
TIP was designed to unify systems, streamline operations and embed best
practices across the organisation, and the platform is performing as
anticipated, providing the foundation for ongoing refinement and continuously
evolving functionality. This achievement leaves us equipped with a fully
integrated, end-to-end, scalable digital backbone that encourages innovation,
accelerates future upgrades, and elevates the experience for clients and
candidates. In doing so, we gain a significant competitive advantage in speed,
efficiency and adaptability.
In addition, the capabilities enabled through TIP have driven us to scrutinise
and elevate every aspect of our business, including our proposition, strategy,
people and processes, resulting in meaningful improvements across the
organisation. We have successfully realised our FY25 operational efficiencies
programme, enhanced productivity of our Contract sales consultants as measured
by placements per head, and strengthened our ability to serve stakeholders
effectively. These gains not only supported profitability in a challenging
market but also created a leaner, more agile organisation ready to scale as
conditions improve. Our broad-based progress this year showcases the strength
of SThree: clarity of purpose, sharper direction and the capability to lead
from the front.
Market: STEM demand, digital transformation and evolving skills
A prolonged period of economic uncertainty has slowed clients' decision-making
and investment across global STEM markets. As confidence returns, pent-up
demand is expected to be released as organisations across sectors resume
much-needed investment to remain competitive in a changing world. Rapid
advances in AI and digital transformation are reshaping the skills employers
need, tightening an already scarce STEM talent pool and pushing organisations
to build workforces capable of adopting and scaling new technologies.
These same forces are reshaping the staffing industry itself, with AI-enabled
tools raising the bar for service quality, efficiency and the value clients
demand from their talent partners. As a result, the gap is widening between
providers focused solely on placements and those also able to deliver more
complex, high-value services and solutions. With SThree's scale, digital
capabilities and deep STEM expertise, we are strongly positioned to meet this
evolving demand and lead in a market where human insight - augmented by
technology - will matter more than ever. As clients increasingly seek guidance
on AI and emerging technologies, we are partners in transformation, not
transactional suppliers, and are well placed to capitalise on this evolving
landscape.
Strategy: Delivery against ambition
SThree reports operational progress against five clearly defined strategic
pillars - Places, Platform, Customers, Proposition and People - which the
Group believes work synergistically to unlock the Group's full growth
potential.
Places
Since early 2023, we have been intentionally rebalancing towards a more
focused footprint, guided by our 'Market Investment Model' to identify where
our capabilities and the market opportunity are most aligned. This disciplined
approach has enabled us to deploy resources more effectively, strengthen our
competitive position, and ensure that we are investing in the markets with the
greatest potential - resulting in an increased emphasis on the USA and Japan,
where the scale of STEM demand and structural growth trends present
significant opportunity. We were pleased to have recorded growth in both
during the year, reinforcing our approach. Growth in the US, with net fees up
4% YoY, marked the reversal of two years of decline, with our initiatives to
improve market positioning gaining traction throughout the year.
In Germany, our largest market, we have analysed the government's recently
announced stimulus plans and identified the sectors where investment is most
likely to materialise. These are all sectors in which SThree already operates,
and we have dedicated specialist teams in place. Following the announcements,
we have mapped our customer base and identified potential targets in the
sectors most likely to benefit from the stimulus. In the meantime, we have
used the period between the announcement and the deployment of funds to ensure
our teams are appropriately sized and positioned to capture opportunities as
they emerge.
In addition to geographic focus, we are becoming far more industry-focused in
the markets we serve, deepening our sector expertise and enhancing our market
intelligence to identify skill-gaps early and better anticipate customer
needs. This includes our alignment to industries undergoing long-term
transformations - an example being our Energy segment in the US which
continues to expand in line with sector-wide investment to meet rising
electricity demand from AI applications, data centres and electric mobility,
alongside ongoing grid strengthening to ensure reliable energy delivery.
Platform
The completion of our phased rollout of TIP this year is a huge achievement.
Total outflow for the programme was £32 million (£19 million capital
expenditure and £13 million operational expenditure), which is within the
lower-to-mid range of the budget set at the start of the programme. In
implementing a programme of this scale across global operations, our teams
have consistently demonstrated the expertise and commitment needed to navigate
challenges presented by a country-by-country rollout. We have also exceeded
our original project scope, introducing new tools such as our Contract
Lifecycle Management AI and Call Navigator functionality, further
strengthening the foundation on which we will continue to scale.
We are already seeing clear structural benefits of the TIP being realised -
both in terms of efficiencies and the second wave of wider value outputs,
including:
· Cost efficiencies: as of today, TIP has delivered annualised cost efficiencies
of £6.5m, demonstrating a financially compelling base case ROI, with more
efficiencies to come in FY26 and beyond.
· Pipeline quality: the number of higher-quality jobs per consultant (A and B
grade roles) has increased by 38% across the Group since FY23((6)). These are
roles with stronger client engagement and higher conversion potential, meaning
that consultants are spending more time on the right opportunities, earlier in
the cycle.
· Operational velocity: the Group has seen a meaningful 9% reduction in
time-to-placement since FY23, which is even more pronounced in the USA
Contract business where the platform has been embedded the longest and
time-to-placement is down 22% over the same time period((6)).
· Consultant productivity:
o USA: evidenced by an 18% improvement in placements per head for Contract
consultants in the US business, the first market to roll-out TIP and therefore
with the longest live operating history((6)).
o Germany: evidenced by the controlled comparison of our Independent Contractor
(IC) and Employed Contractor Model (ECM) divisions, where IC new placement
weekly net fees outperformed ECM by 10 percentage points since FY23((7)).
When looking at the cost efficiencies, these are being enabled by automation
across back and middle office processes, and by the simplification of non-fee
earning front office management layers. These gains reflect the programme's
focus on system consolidation and a more standardised order‑to‑cash
operating model, which removes duplication and rework and provides the
foundations for enhanced data and reporting to support faster, more impactful
decision‑making.
As mentioned above, the most decisive evidence of TIP's commercial impact to
date comes from the German Contract business, where the performance of IC and
ECM divisions provide a controlled environment given that both divisions
operate under the same leadership, serve the same clients, and are subject to
the same market conditions. Historically, the divisions' performances have
been closely correlated, however a performance divergence emerged only after
IC transitioned onto TIP in early 2024. What was shown was that the
TIP-enabled business, being the IC division, preserved relatively stronger
throughput than the ECM business, even despite experiencing a deeper reduction
in sales headcount, with IC new placement weekly net fees outperforming ECM by
10 percentage points since FY23((7)). What this reflects in aggregate is that
TIP has not only modernised SThree's technology foundations, but it has also
redefined how the organisation operates and competes on a global scale.
Beyond immediate financial returns, TIP's greatest contribution is strategic.
The Group has moved from reactive, retrospective performance reviews to
proactive, real-time operational control to drive continuous improvement. By
rebuilding SThree's core infrastructure on a unified, cloud-based
architecture, it has laid the foundation for complementary next generation
technology, including agentic AI, working to broaden our addressable market.
With the foundational rollout now complete, we enter the new year with all of
our resources now fully focused on driving customised, next generation
enhancements and unlocking TIP's full potential.
Customers
Our recently introduced Customer pillar reflects our strategy to drive revenue
growth through deeper client engagement and stronger candidate relationships.
We are evolving our services to meet the changing needs of our clients,
becoming more client-centric and enhancing the end-to-end experience across
every interaction. As clients increasingly seek integrated solutions, and as
we receive more demand for complex, consultative support, we are increasing
our focus on large enterprise accounts and refining our account management
approach to enable deeper penetration of our strategic accounts.
This focus is already delivering results, with double-digit growth recorded
among our top client cohort((8)) demonstrating the benefit of our Global
Client Strategy and staying closer to those we serve. The value of our
services is further evidenced by resilient contract extensions, robust and
sustained pricing, and a 10% increase in average contract lengths over the
year. Our success continues to rest on a simple but powerful promise: whatever
the market demands, we are there for our clients. By listening, adapting and
delivering with precision, we are deepening partnerships and creating
sustainable value across the industries we support.
Proposition
Our branding refresh, as announced in the first half of the year, continues to
receive strong customer and partner feedback, reinforcing our confidence that
a unified brand architecture will unlock greater value and accelerate our
ambition to be the authority in the STEM world of work. Bringing our
go-to-market brands together under the strength and endorsement of the SThree
parent brand is sharpening our position as the trusted global partner and more
clearly articulates what we have long delivered: complex, consultative-led
workforce solutions. At the core of this performance is our Contract business,
with ECM, our most complex, value-added offering, continuing to outperform IC
and now accounting for 49% of Contract net fees, reflecting sustained demand
for sophisticated workforce solutions.
To amplify this progress, we have been elevating SThree's external profile to
showcase how we have redefined the traditional staffing model with a more
advisory, value-adding approach. This included the launch of the SThree STEM
Skills Index, developed with the Centre for Economics and Business Research
(CEBR), the only global measure of STEM skills readiness, which has quickly
become a cornerstone of our thought leadership and a valuable tool for client
engagement. We also introduced the STEM Workforce Report to capture the
perspectives of STEM professionals across key markets. Together, these
initiatives reinforce our commitment to providing evidence-based insights that
help businesses and professionals succeed in an evolving STEM landscape.
People
We are equipping our people with technology that removes manual tasks and
enables them to focus on high-value work, building stronger relationships with
clients and candidates, while keeping human expertise at the heart of our
proposition. As expected with a transformation of the scale of TIP, the
rollout has brought both opportunities and challenges, with change management
a major area of focus. Engagement levels have inevitably been affected by the
pace of change internally and compounded by the wider market backdrop; our
global eNPS score was 21, placing the Group within the middle range of the
professional services sector. We have learned a great deal through this
journey. With the rollout phase of TIP now complete, its functionality will
continue to evolve, and we remain committed to supporting our teams and
ensuring they are fully engaged with the platform to maximise its benefits.
TIP is now enabling us to manage our global operations in a more cohesive and
consistent way. One of the year's major milestones was the launch of our
unified HR platform, SuccessFactors. It will support the full employee life
cycle and will allow managers to devote more time to client engagement and
revenue generation as well as coaching. By consolidating multiple legacy
systems, it will provide leaders with clean, reliable data to inform
decision-making and workforce planning. Additional progress this year included
the rollout of our AIR performance framework to enhance our high-performance
culture, the launch of a refreshed global sales onboarding programme, and the
introduction of a new global DE&I policy. With this infrastructure and
these processes now firmly in place, our teams are becoming increasingly
accustomed to our new ways of working, and going forward, we will be able to
tailor the platform in ways that best support them.
Delivering impact beyond our business
At the heart of our business lies a commitment to sustainability and long-term
positive impact. Despite economic fluctuations, we remain resolute in our
focus to delivering on our ESG commitments, which we regard as a fundamental
driver of long-term value creation. By embedding responsible practices
throughout our business, we are enhancing resilience and aligning with the
evolving expectations of our clients, candidates, and investors. Our
sustainable business practices and ESG commitments are demonstrated by:
· Our net zero ambition: In FY25, our Scope 1 and 2 emissions declined by 54%
YoY, with a 40% decrease from our 2019 baseline. Our absolute Scope 3
emissions reduced by 41% versus 2019. This year, the net zero Working Group
has continued to implement our transition plan.
· Gender diversity in leadership: Our targets align with the FTSE Women Leaders
Review, aiming for 40% women representation on the Board and in leadership
roles. As of 30 November 2025, women represent 50% of our Board and hold 37%
of leadership positions.
· Ethnic diversity targets: In line with the Parker Review, we have met and
maintained our target of at least one Board member from an ethnic minority
background since 2024. We are also working towards 18% ethnic minority
representation in UK leadership by FY27, with current representation at 16%.
Outlook and priorities for FY26
While the extended market cycle has been challenging, we have used this period
to build a lean, scalable operational backbone across both our front and back
office, leaving us well positioned as conditions begin to improve. We have
exited the year with encouraging new business activity, and good momentum in
select countries, such as the US, whilst a broader recovery is yet to
materialise, particularly in Europe. We start FY26 having successfully
concluded a key contract renewal period, underpinning our expectations for the
new year.
We are moving into the next phase, with clear priorities: driving further
operational efficiencies, shifting from infrastructure rollout to service
development, leveraging our workforce-consultancy offering to grow, scaling
responsibly, and maintaining the right portfolio balance. We have established
a proposition aligned to the new age of work, where technology removes
non-value-added activity and human expertise delivers impact, and our
TIP-enabled infrastructure now gives us the platform to accelerate new service
capabilities. We planned early for this change, and the value-gap for
future-built firms is widening((9)). By putting clients at the centre of
everything we do, creating an agile organisation, and investing in innovation,
we'll stay at the forefront of industry dynamics and outpace change.
((5)) BCG, Most Large-Scale Tech Programs Fail, Build for the Future 2024:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/most-large-scale-tech-programs-fail-how-to-succeed
(https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/most-large-scale-tech-programs-fail-how-to-succeed)
((6)) KPI measures FY25 performance relative to FY23, which serves as the
pre-TIP rollout baseline. The USA, our first market to adopt the new platform,
went live in Q4 FY23.
((7)) KPI reflects the percentage‑point delta in the rate of change of
average weekly Net Fees from new placements between IC and ECM divisions in
Germany, calculated on a Q3 YTD FY25 basis (the final comparable period prior
to ECM Germany's platform migration) and benchmarked against Q3 YTD FY23 on a
like‑for‑like basis to remove seasonality effects.
((8)) Top 10 clients.
((9)) BCG, The Widening AI Value Gap, Build for the Future 2025:
https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/are-you-generating-value-from-ai-the-widening-gap
(https://www.bcg.com/publications/2025/are-you-generating-value-from-ai-the-widening-gap)
Group financial and OPERATIONAL REVIEW
Overview
Amid a persistently soft market environment, the Group's net fees declined by
12% YoY. Contract net fees were down 12% YoY as softness in new placement
activity earlier in the year outweighed the benefit of the more recent
improvement and consistently resilient extensions. Contract performance in the
US was a notable highlight, returning to growth this year, and helping to
partially mitigate softer performances in both Germany and the
Netherlands. Our Permanent business declined 9% YoY, which was an
improvement on the rate of decline in the prior year, driven by growth in both
the US and Japan. Within our skill verticals, the Group's
Engineering net fees were down 6% YoY, with the performance supported by
strong demand in the US. Both Life Sciences and Technology saw declines of
13% and 18% YoY respectively, amid continued market uncertainty. Overall, the
Group reported operating profit was £26.1 million (FY24: £66.2 million),
down 60% YoY on a like-for-like basis driven primarily by the decline in net
fees across key markets, partially offset by lower personnel costs (average
headcount down 10% YoY), along with tight cost management. The operating
profit conversion ratio for the financial period reduced to 8.1% (FY24:
17.9%).
The Group's historic measure of productivity((10)) for the year was down only
3% against the prior year, as the rate of net fee decline was moderately
higher than the rate of decline in average headcount, which reflected careful
management of natural churn and the realisation of operational efficiencies.
( )
((10)) Productivity expressed as net fees / average total employees
( )
Group net fees by geography, skills and service
Group net fees % of Group FY25 FY24 Variance
(£'000) (£'000)
Reported Like-for-like((11))
Geographical mix
DACH 33% 106,606 127,546 -16% -16%
USA 26% 83,169 82,034 +1% +4%
Netherlands including Spain 19% 62,255 78,532 -21% -21%
Rest of Europe 16% 51,494 61,314 -16% -16%
Middle East & Asia 6% 19,172 19,653 -2% +2%
Total 100% 322,696 369,079 -12% -12%
Skills mix
Technology 45% 145,122 177,694 -18% -18%
Engineering 30% 98,396 105,330 -7% -6%
Life Sciences 16% 52,442 60,926 -14% -13%
Other 9% 26,736 25,129 +6% +7%
Total 100% 322,696 369,079 -12% -12%
Service mix
Contract 84% 270,659 310,617 -13% -12%
Permanent 16% 52,037 58,462 -11% -9%
Total 100% 322,696 369,079 -12% -12%
((11)) Like-for-like YoY growth rates are expressed in constant currency.
Business mix
The Group is well diversified, both geographically and by the skills we place
across multiple sectors. Our market invest model enables us to continually
review our markets to prioritise investments where we see opportunities for
growth and the strongest returns. Our top three countries represent 72% of
Group net fees, with Germany accounting for 29%, USA 26% and the Netherlands
17%.
Our Contract business declined by 12% on a like-for-like basis and represents
84% of Group net fees, with average Contract headcount down 9% YoY. Our
Permanent business, which represents 16% of Group net fees, saw net fees
decline 9% in the year on a like-for-like basis, with average Permanent
headcount down 7% YoY.
Within our skill verticals, Engineering declined 6% YoY, with the performance
supported by strong demand in the USA, and represents 30% of Group net fees.
Life Sciences declined by 13% and Technology by 18%, reflecting ongoing market
uncertainty. Technology and Life Sciences now represent 45% and 16% of Group
net fees respectively.
Operational review by reporting segment
DACH (33% of Group net fees)
FY25 FY24 Variance
Performance highlights Reported Like-for-like
Revenue (£'000) 397,303 456,051 -14% -13%
Net fees (£'000) 106,606 127,546 -16% -16%
Average total headcount (FTE) 692 811 -15% n/a
· DACH is our largest region, comprising businesses in Austria, Germany and
Switzerland, with Germany accounting for 88% of net fees. Net fees declined by
16% YoY, with Contract down 14% and Permanent down 25%.
· Germany, our largest country in the region (88% of DACH net fees), saw Contract down 13%, with overall net fees down 16%, predominantly reflecting lower levels of demand for Technology skills, our largest vertical (down 16%). Germany's performance continues to reflect a challenging trading environment, with the anticipated uplift in job flows from the reform of the debt brake and the government's €500 billion investment fund yet to materialise.
· Switzerland saw net fees decline 17% YoY driven by Technology and Engineering,
down 23% and 20% respectively.
· Austria net fees declined 30% YoY due to reduced demand for Technology roles.
USA (26% of Group net fees)
FY25 FY24 Variance
Performance highlights Reported Like-for-like
Revenue (£'000) 289,543 299,229 -3% -1%
Net fees (£'000) 83,169 82,034 +1% +4%
Average total headcount (FTE) 366 411 -11% n/a
· The USA is the world's largest specialist STEM staffing market and our
second-largest region on a net fee basis. It is a key area of focus for the
Group, and we will continue to invest in the region as we align our resources
with the best long-term opportunities.
· USA net fees increased 4% YoY, returning to growth after two years of declines, supported by the continued traction of our internal and go-to-market initiatives throughout the year.
· Contract net fees, which account for 87% of the region's net fees, returned to
growth, increasing 1% YoY, supported by strong demand for Energy roles. This
reflects sector-wide investment to meet rising electricity demand from AI
applications, data centres and electric mobility, alongside ongoing grid
hardening to address climate related challenges.
· This was complemented by an exceptional Permanent performance, with net fees
up 32% YoY, driven by a recovery in demand across the three skill verticals it
serves.
Netherlands including Spain (19% of Group net fees)
FY25 FY24 Variance
Performance highlights Reported Like-for-like
Revenue (£'000) 280,964 343,571 -18% -18%
Net fees (£'000) 62,255 78,532 -21% -21%
Average total headcount (FTE) 380 411 -7% n/a
· The region saw net fees decline by 21% YoY, with Contract down 20% and
Permanent down 28%.
· Netherlands, the larger of the two countries in the region (87% of net fees),
closed the year down 24% YoY. The business, which sustained positive
performance for longer than our other larger countries, is still working
through strong prior-year comparatives, particularly in its two largest skill
verticals, Technology and Engineering.
· Contract delivered a slightly more resilient performance (down 24% YoY) than
Permanent (down 27%), with both declines driven by reduced demand for
Engineering and Technology skills.
· Spain continued to deliver growth, increasing 8% YoY, primarily reflecting
demand for Technology roles, its main discipline, and Engineering skills.
Rest of Europe (16% of Group net fees)
FY25 FY24 Variance
Performance highlights Reported Like-for-like
Revenue (£'000) 292,924 353,150 -17% -17%
Net fees (£'000) 51,494 61,314 -16% -16%
Average total headcount (FTE) ((12)) 390 441 -12% n/a
((12)) Excludes central headcount located in the UK.
· Rest of Europe comprises the UK, Belgium and France, with overall business
confidence in the region remaining subdued against a backdrop of persistent
market uncertainty.
· Net fees declined 16% YoY. Contract, which represents 97% of net fees for the
region, declined 16%, whilst Permanent declined 30%, reflecting the tough
market conditions.
· The UK, our largest country in the region (54% of net fees), saw net fees
decline 27%, driven primarily by reduced demand for Technology, its largest
skill vertical, followed by Engineering, down 33% YoY and 18% YoY
respectively.
· Belgium, our second largest country in the region (28% of net fees), delivered
a positive net fee performance, increasing 15% YoY, supported by demand for
roles in Life Sciences. In contrast, net fees in France declined 11% YoY.
Middle East & Asia (6% of Group net fees)
FY25 FY24 Variance
Performance highlights Reported Like-for-like
Revenue (£'000) 41,470 40,905 0% +5%
Net fees (£'000) 19,172 19,653 -5% +2%
Average total headcount (FTE) 221 202 +9% n/a
· Our Middle East & Asia business includes Japan and UAE, and accounts for
6% of Group net fees.
· Net fees grew 2% YoY, with Permanent, which contributes 73% of net fees for
the region, growing 8%, whilst Contract declined 12%.
· Japan, which represents 65% of the region's net fees, delivered its fifth
consecutive year of growth, with net fees increasing 20% YoY. Growth was
underpinned by strong demand for Technology roles, as digital transformation,
AI, and data security remained high priorities for clients. Performance also
benefited from the continued repositioning of the business to serve domestic
Japanese companies, supported by an expanded base of Japanese‑speaking
consultants and managers, enabling deeper client engagement and market share
gains.
· Net fees in UAE were down 27%, driven by lower levels of demand across the
three skill verticals it serves.
chief financial officer's STATEMENT
In FY25, Group net fees declined 12% on a like‑for‑like basis, reflecting
the continued impact of political and macro‑economic uncertainty,
particularly in Europe. However, the rate of decline improved sequentially
through the year, supported by the USA returning to growth. We exited the year
with encouraging new business activity and good momentum in select countries,
although a broader recovery in Europe has yet to materialise.
Income statement
On a reported basis, revenue for the year was down 13%((13)) and amounted to
£1.3 billion (FY24: £1.5 billion) while net fees declined by 13% to £322.7
million (FY24: £369.1 million). The weakening of the US Dollar against
Sterling during the year, partially offset by a slight strengthening of the
Euro, decreased total net fees by £1.6 million. Therefore, when presented on
a constant currency basis, the net fees decreased by 12% YoY.
Contract net fees, which represented 84% of Group net fees in the year (FY24:
84%), declined by 12% YoY on a like-for-like basis. Performance reflected
earlier softness in new business activity, which more than offset the benefits
of recent improvement and consistently resilient contract extensions. Across
our core regions, the USA, our second largest Contract region, returned to
growth after two years of declines, increasing 1% YoY, driven by strong demand
from the Energy sector. This was offset by softer performances in our other
core regions. DACH, our largest Contract region, declined 14%, primarily
reflecting softer demand for Technology skills. The Netherlands including
Spain, saw a decline of 20% in Contract net fees, driven by lower demand for
Technology and Engineering roles. Rest of Europe declined 16% YoY, impacted by
the performance of its largest skill vertical Technology, whilst Middle East
& Asia, our smallest Contract region, declined 12%. By skill vertical,
Engineering was the most resilient in Contract, down 6% YoY, underpinned by
demand in the USA. Life Sciences and Technology declined 13% and 18%
respectively, reflecting continued market uncertainty. The Group Contract net
fee margin, calculated as Contract net fees as a percentage of Contract
revenue((14)), remained flat YoY at 21.7% (FY24: 21.7%).
The contractor order book((15)) closed at £156.6 million, down only 2% YoY,
equivalent to approximately five months' net fees, and providing
sector-leading forward visibility. Under the contractor model, net fees are
earned on a month-by-month basis, with the contractor order book reflecting
the value of net fees under contract but yet to be recognised. During softer
market conditions, this provides resilience with visibility over contract fees
as contracts run their course (contract 'finishers'). In a market recovery
context, the Board would expect the contractor order book to gradually
increase as and when new placements outpace finishers over a sustained period
through the year.
Permanent net fee income declined 9% YoY reflecting challenging market
conditions across most regions, but represented a marked improvement on the
prior year (FY24: down 18%). This improvement was driven by strong
performances in our second and third largest Permanent regions, Middle East
& Asia and the USA, which delivered growth of 8% and 32% respectively. In
contrast, our largest Permanent region, DACH, declined 25%, whilst the smaller
Permanent regions of Rest of Europe and Netherlands including Spain declined
30% and 28% respectively. Permanent average fees increased by 25% YoY in the
year, with average permanent fee margin (net fees as a percentage of salary)
now at 28.0% (FY24: 27.2%).
Operating expenses were reduced by 2% YoY on a reported basis, amounting to
£296.6 million (FY24: £302.9 million) despite incurring additional costs to
deliver future savings. Overall, the reported operating profit was £26.1
million (FY24: £66.2 million), down 60% YoY in constant currency, while the
Group operating profit conversion ratio((14)) decreased to 8.1% (FY24: 17.9%)
reflecting the protracted challenging economic conditions impacting net fees,
partially offset by disciplined management of operating costs and the
realisation of further operational efficiencies. This programme, previously
communicated in December, is primarily focused on the streamlining of
operations through the removal of redundant back-office positions and non-fee
earner front-office management layers. Early efficiencies achieved from the
TIP, along with insights into its full potential, gave the business the
confidence to accelerate its implementation. We made good progress this year,
with the FY25 efficiencies programme delivering net savings of c.£7m,
marginally ahead of plan. The net currency movements versus Sterling were
unfavourable to the operating profit, reducing it by £0.3 million.
Fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates continue to be a sensitivity
for the Group's reported results. By way of illustration, each 1% movement in
annual exchange rates of the Euro and US Dollar against Sterling impacts the
Group's operating profit by £0.6 million and £0.2 million respectively per
annum.
Net finance income
The Group incurred net finance cost of £0.6 million (FY24: net finance income
of £1.4 million) which included interest income of £1.5 million (FY24: £2.9
million) earned on the Group's bank deposits, offset by the interest charge on
lease liabilities, £2.1 million (FY24: £1.4 million).
Income tax
The total tax charge for the year on the Group's profit before tax was £7.9
million (FY24: £18.0million), representing a full-year effective tax rate
(ETR) of 30.8% (FY24: 26.5%). The YoY increase in the Group's ETR reflects the
benefit of a one-off credit recognised in FY24 following the resolution of the
state aid case at the European Court of Justice. In addition, the Group has
adopted a prudent view on the forecast utilisation of tax losses, taking into
account the continued challenging conditions in the sector. The Group ETR can
also vary YoY due to the mix of taxable profits by territory,
non-deductibility of the accounting charge for LTIPs and other one-off tax
items.
Overall, the reported profit before tax was £25.5 million (FY24: £67.6
million), down 62% YoY in constant currency and down 62% on a reported basis.
The reported profit after tax was £17.7 million, down 64% YoY in constant
currency and down 64% on a reported basis (FY24: £49.7 million).
((13)) Unless specifically stated, all growth rates in revenue and net fees
are expressed in constant currency.
((14)) The Group has identified and defined certain alternative performance
measures (APMs). These are the key measures the Directors use to assess the
SThree's underlying operational and financial performance. The APMs are fully
explained and reconciled to IFRS line items in note 14.
((15)) The contractor order book represents value of net fees until
contractual end dates, assuming all contractual hours are worked.
Earnings per share (EPS)
The EPS was 13.7 pence (FY24: 37.4 pence). The YoY movement is attributable to
the overall trading performance, partially offset by the reduced weighted
average number of shares, due to 7.8 million in shares bought back and
immediately cancelled.
The diluted EPS was 13.6 pence (FY24: 37.1 pence). Share dilution mainly
results from various share options in place and expected future settlement of
vested tracker shares. The dilutive effect on EPS from tracker shares will
vary in future periods, depending on the profitability of the underlying
tracker businesses and the settlement of vested arrangements.
Dividends and distributable reserves
The Board monitors the appropriate level of dividend, considering achieved and
expected trading of the Group, together with its balance sheet position. The
Board aims to offer shareholders long-term ordinary dividend growth within a
targeted dividend cover range of 2.5x to 3.0x through the cycle.
The Board has proposed to pay a final dividend of 9.2 pence (FY24: 9.2 pence)
per share, which together with the interim dividend of 5.1 pence (FY24: 5.1
pence) per share, will give the total dividend of 14.3 pence (FY24: 14.3
pence) per share for FY25.
The final dividend, which amounts to approximately £11.9 million, will be
subject to shareholder approval at the 2026 Annual General Meeting. It will be
paid on 12 June 2026 to shareholders on the register on 15 May 2026. The
Board's decision to maintain the dividend in-line with last year reflects a
considered assessment of both the Group's trading performance to date and its
future outlook, underpinned by a robust balance sheet and a strong track
record of cash generation. It also underscores the Board's commitment to
returning surplus capital to shareholders where appropriate.
As previously communicated alongside our interim results this year, the
Directors determined that certain distributions, being the FY24 interim
dividend paid 6 December 2024, the share buyback programme undertaken December
2024 to May 2025, and the FY24 final dividend paid 6 June 2025 (together the
'Relevant Distributions'), were made without complying fully with the
technical requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the Act').
The Group as a whole has, at all times, had sufficient profits and other
distributable reserves to pay the Relevant Distributions, however the parent
Company itself had insufficient distributable reserves at the time these
distributions were made. A course of action, consistent with the approach
taken by other listed companies that have historically encountered similar
issues, was followed to remedy this position without the Company pursuing any
rights that it may have to seek repayments of the relevant funds. The Company
has subsequently announced the Special Resolution set out in the notice of
General Meeting dated 5 September 2025, was duly passed on a poll at the
General Meeting held on 1 October 2025.
The Directors took action to remedy this technical issue by paying sufficient
dividends to the Company from its subsidiaries and by preparing interim
accounts (as defined in the Act) showing the requisite level of distributable
reserves and net assets and filing them at Companies House. Consequently, as
at the date of our interim results announcement on 29 July, the Company held
distributable reserves in excess of the amount required in respect of both the
Relevant Distributions and the known future committed capital returns in FY25.
The Company's past accounts will not need to be restated and no repayments are
expected in respect of any dividends or the share buyback.
Balance sheet
Total Group net assets decreased to £235.1 million (FY24: £248.6 million),
mainly driven by share buybacks and dividends paid in the year, partially
offset by the net profit for the year.
Net working capital, including contract assets, decreased by £18.7 million on
the prior year, driven mainly by the slowdown in trading, including reduced
contractor order book. After taking account of the £20.2 million share
buyback completed earlier in the year, the Group ended the year with a net
cash position of £68.0 million. This was supported by a strong final quarter
of cash collection, leaving the balance sheet in a robust position. In FY25
DSO decreased to 53 days (FY24: 55 days).
Overall, our business model remains highly cash generative, and we have no
undue concentration of repayment obligations in respect of trade payables or
borrowings.
Tracker shares
In FY25, the Group settled certain vested tracker shares for a total
consideration of £0.8 million (FY24: £4.8 million) which was determined
using a formula set out in the Articles of Association underpinning the
tracker share businesses. The consideration was settled in SThree plc shares;
30,544 (FY24: 508,396) new shares were issued and 627,000 (FY24: 776,000) of
shares held by the EBT were utilised. The arrangement is deemed to be an
equity-settled share-based payment arrangement under IFRS 2 Share-based
payments. There was no charge to the income statement as initially the tracker
shareholders subscribed to the tracker shares at their fair value.
All current tracker share businesses remaining in existence will continue to
be reviewed for settlement based on the pre-agreed criteria each year, until
the full closure of the scheme in the next few years. As at the year end, the
valuation of the outstanding shareholdings was approximately £0.9 million.
These settlements may either dilute the earnings of SThree plc's existing
ordinary shareholders if funded by a new issue of shares or result in a cash
outflow if funded via treasury shares or shares held in the EBT.
Liquidity management
In FY25, cash generated from operations was £70.1 million (FY24: £59.8
million). The increase was primarily driven by a favourable working capital
inflow, especially stronger cash collections and lower contract assets,
partially offset by reduced payables. Income tax paid decreased to 9.9 million
(FY24: £23.0 million).
Capital expenditure decreased to £8.6 million (FY24: £13.2 million), as the
Group-wide TIP reached its final stage, with all developed assets brought to
active use during the period. The capital expenditure also included costs of
certain leasehold improvements and furniture/IT equipment purchases across our
office portfolio.
The Group paid £14.6 million in rent including principal and interest portion
(FY24: £14.4 million). The Group spent £21.4 million (FY23: £10.0 million)
on the purchase of its own shares, the majority of which related to the share
buyback programme and were subsequently cancelled. Dividend payments were
£18.5 million comprising primarily the FY24 final dividend paid in June 2025
(FY24: £15.9 million).
Foreign exchange had a negative impact of £0.2 million (FY24: negative impact
£0.1 million).
Overall, net cash closed at £68.0 million (FY24: £69.7 million), a modest
£1.7 million decline despite returning £20.2 million to shareholders through
the buyback programme. This resilience reflects a £22.0 million uplift in
operating cash flow, driven by a significant working capital inflow from
receivables, alongside reduced capital expenditure as the TIP rollout
concluded, which largely offset higher outflows from buybacks and dividends.
Accessible funding
The Group's capital allocation priorities are financed mainly by retained
earnings, cash generated from operations, and a £50.0 million RCF. This has
remained undrawn during the year, but any funds borrowed under the RCF would
bear a minimum annual interest rate of 1.2% above the benchmark Sterling
Overnight Index Average. The Group also maintains a £30.0 million accordion
facility as well as a substantial working capital position reflecting net cash
due to SThree for placements already undertaken.
At the end of the current financial year, the Group had not drawn down any of
the credit facilities (FY24: £nil).
On 30 November 2025, the Group had total accessible liquidity of £123.0
million, made up of £68.0 million in net cash (FY24: £69.7 million), the
£50.0 million RCF and a £5.0 million overdraft facility (which was fully
undrawn at the year end).
Capital allocation
SThree remains disciplined in its approach to allocating capital, with the
core objective at all times being to maximise shareholder value. The Group's
capital allocation policy is reviewed periodically by the Board and was last
reviewed in January 2026:
- Balance sheet - our intention is to maintain a strong balance sheet at all
times to provide operational flexibility throughout the business cycle.
- Dividend - we aim to pay a sustainable dividend, with a commitment to a
through-the-cycle dividend cover range of 2.5x to 3.0x of EPS((16)).
- Deployment of capital prioritised in the order of:
1. Organic growth: investing in our people and ensuring sufficient working
capital on hand to fund growth in the contractor order book while developing
new business opportunities.
2. Business improvement: digitalising our business, putting in place the
technology and tools that are key to driving both scale and higher margins.
3. Acquisitions: strict inorganic growth discipline, with a focus on
complementary and value enhancing acquisitions.
4. Capital return to shareholders: after all organic and inorganic opportunities
within an appropriate, time horizon have been assessed, further cash returns
to shareholders may be considered.
During the year, the Company returned approximately £20.2 million to
shareholders through its share buyback programme. This resulted in the
purchase and cancellation of 7.8 million ordinary shares at an average price
of 261 pence per share.
((16)) In certain circumstances, the Board may exercise its discretion to
depart from this policy, subject to careful and ongoing assessment of the
Group's trading performance, future outlook, and balance sheet position. Any
such departure would be considered as part of the Group's established dividend
review schedule, and only where deemed appropriate in light of prevailing
conditions.
PRINCIPAL AND EMERGING RISKS
Principal risks and uncertainties affecting the business activities of the
Group will be detailed within the Strategic Report section of the Group's 2025
Annual Report and Accounts, a copy of which will be available on the Group's
website www.sthree.com (http://sthree.com) .
Delivering on our strategy requires all parts of our business to work
together. In isolation risk mitigation helps SThree manage specific subjects
and areas of the business. However, when brought into our day-to-day
activities, successful risk management has helped us to maximise our
competitive advantage and deliver on our strategic pillars in FY25. While the
ultimate responsibility for risk management rests with the Board, the
effective day-to-day management of risk is in the way we do business and our
culture.
Aligning risks and strategy by using risk to help make the right strategic
decisions - in order to deliver our strategy and competitive advantage
throughout the business we must ensure that we maintain a balance between
safeguarding against potential risks and taking advantage of all potential
opportunities.
consolidated income statement
for the year ended 30 November 2025
£'000 Note 2025 2024
Revenue 2 1,302,204 1,492,906
Cost of sales 2 (979,508) (1,123,827)
Net fees 2 322,696 369,079
Administrative expenses 3 (295,256) (301,972)
Impairment losses on financial assets (1,305) (913)
Operating profit 26,135 66,194
Finance income 1,469 2,891
Finance costs (2,071) (1,445)
Profit before income tax 25,533 67,640
Income tax expense 4 (7,859) (17,948)
Profit for the year attributable to the owners of the Company 17,674 49,692
Earnings per share attributable to shareholders
pence
Basic 5 13.7 37.4
Diluted 5 13.6 37.1
consolidated statement of comprehensive income
for the year ended 30 November 2025
£'000 2025 2024
Profit for the year 17,674 49,692
Other comprehensive profit/(loss):
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to income statement
Exchange differences on retranslation of foreign operations 4,352 (4,304)
Other comprehensive profit/(loss) for the year (net of tax) 4,352 (4,304)
Total comprehensive income for the year attributable to owners of the Company 22,026 45,388
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
consolidated statement of financial position
as at 30 November 2025
30 November 30 November
£'000 Note 2025 2024
ASSETS
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 54,051 46,217
Intangible assets 6 15,968 12,122
Deferred tax assets 3,292 3,408
Total non-current assets 73,311 61,747
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 330,890 364,907
Current tax assets 11,242 10,315
Cash and cash equivalents 7 67,962 69,756
Total current assets 410,094 444,978
Total assets 483,405 506,725
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Equity attributable to owners of the Company
Share capital 8 1,279 1,356
Share premium 8 42,141 42,098
Other reserves 3,219 (7,195)
Retained earnings 188,457 212,385
Total equity 235,096 248,644
Current liabilities
Bank overdraft 7 - 88
Trade and other payables 182,922 198,223
Lease liabilities 9, 10 10,549 10,419
Provisions 2,831 4,068
Current tax liabilities 11,635 12,275
Total current liabilities 207,937 225,073
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities 9, 10 36,952 29,362
Provisions 2,581 2,784
Deferred tax liabilities 839 862
Total non-current liabilities 40,372 33,008
Total liabilities 248,309 258,081
Total equity and liabilities 483,405 506,725
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
consolidated statement of changes in equity
for the year ended 30 November 2025
Share Share Capital Capital Treasury reserve Currency Fair value reserve of equity investments Retained Total equity attributable to owners of the Company
capital
premium
redemption
reserve
translation
earnings
reserve
reserve
£'000
Balance at 1 December 2024 1,356 42,098 172 878 (7,246) (999) - 212,385 248,644
Profit for the year - - - - - - - 17,674 17,674
Other comprehensive loss for the year - - - - - 4,352 - - 4,352
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the year - - - - - 4,352 - 17,674 22,026
Dividends paid to equity holders (note 11) - - - - - - - (18,542) (18,542)
Distributions payable to tracker shareholders - - - - - - - (18) (18)
Settlement of vested tracker shares (note 8) 1 42 - - 2,509 - - (2,550) 2
Settlement of share-based payments (note 8) - 1 - - 4,659 - - (4,659) 1
Purchase of shares by Employee Benefit Trust (note 8) - - - - (1,184) - - - (1,184)
Cancellation of share capital (78) - 78 - 20,199 - - (20,199) -
Repurchase of shares - - - - (20,199) - - - (20,199)
Credit to equity for equity-settled share-based payments - - - - - - - 4,428 4,428
Current and deferred tax on share-based payment transactions - - - - - - - (62) (62)
Total movements in equity (77) 43 78 - 5,984 4,352 - (23,928) (13,548)
Balance at 30 November 2025 1,279 42,141 250 878 (1,262) 3,353 - 188,457 235,096
Balance at 1 December 2023 1,349 39,700 172 878 (7,939) 3,305 (13) 185,432 222,884
Profit for the year - - - - - - - 49,692 49,692
Other comprehensive loss for the year - - - - - (4,304) - - (4,304)
Total comprehensive (loss)/income for the year - - - - - (4,304) - 49,692 45,388
Transfer of loss on disposal of equity investments through other comprehensive - - - - - - 13 (13) -
income to retained earnings
Dividends paid to equity holders (note 11) - - - - - - - (15,860) (15,860)
Distributions payable to tracker shareholders - - - - - - - (44) (44)
Settlement of vested tracker shares (note 8) 5 1,901 - - 3,324 - - (4,167) 1,063
Settlement of share-based payments (note 8) 2 497 - - 7,369 - - (7,539) 329
Purchase of shares by Employee Benefit Trust (note 8) - - - - (10,000) - - - (10,000)
Credit to equity for equity-settled share-based payments - - - - - - - 4,894 4,894
Current and deferred tax on share-based payment transactions - - - - - - - (10) (10)
Total movements in equity 7 2,398 - - 693 (4,304) 13 26,953 25,760
Balance at 30 November 2024 1,356 42,098 172 878 (7,246) (999) - 212,385 248,644
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
consolidated statement of cash flows
for the year ended 30 November 2025
£'000 Note 2025 2024
Cash flows from operating activities
Profit before tax 25,533 67,640
Adjustments for:
Depreciation and amortisation charge 17,669 15,254
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment other than right-of-use 48 135
assets
Gain on lease modification (42) (69)
Finance income (1,469) (2,891)
Finance costs 2,071 1,445
Gain on disposal of subsidiary 3 - (135)
Non-cash charge for share-based payments 4,662 4,986
Operating cash flows before changes in working capital and provisions 48,472 86,365
(Decrease)/increase in receivables 44,151 (28,382)
(Decrease)/increase in payables (20,973) 3,667
Decrease in provisions (1,558) (1,861)
Cash generated from operations 70,092 59,789
Interest received 1,469 2,891
Income tax paid (9,894) (23,002)
Net cash generated from operating activities 61,667 39,678
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (3,386) (6,830)
Purchase of intangible assets 6 (5,240) (6,339)
Net cash used in investing activities (8,626) (13,169)
Cash flows from financing activities
Interest paid 10 (2,071) (1,445)
Lease principal payments 10 (12,502) (13,111)
Proceeds from exercise of share options 1 499
Cancellation of share capital 8 (20,199)
Purchase of shares by Employee Benefit Trust 8 (1,184) (10,000)
Dividends paid to equity holders 11 (18,542) (15,860)
Distributions to tracker shareholders (62) -
Net cash used in financing activities (54,559) (39,917)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents (1,518) (13,408)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year 69,668 83,202
Exchange losses relating to cash and cash equivalent (188) (126)
Net cash and cash equivalents at end of the year 7 67,692 69,668
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these Consolidated Financial
Statements.
Notes to the Financial information
for the year ended 30 November 2025
1. BASIS OF PREPARATION AND ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparation
The financial information in this preliminary announcement has been extracted
from the Group audited financial statements for the year ended 30 November
2025 and does not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of Section
434 of the Companies Act 2006 ('the Act'). The Group financial statements and
this preliminary announcement were approved by the Board of Directors on 26
January 2026.
The auditors have reported on the Group's financial statements for the years
ended 30 November 2025 and 30 November 2024 under Section 495 of the Act. The
auditors' reports are unqualified and do not contain a statement under Section
498(2) or (3) of the Act. The Group's statutory financial statements for the
year ended 30 November 2024 were filed with the Registrar of Companies and
those for the year ended 30 November 2025 will be filed following the
Company's Annual General Meeting.
The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with
UK-adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS) and in accordance with the
requirements of the Companies Act 2006 as applicable to companies reporting
under those standards.
Going concern
The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared on a going concern
basis. The Directors have reviewed the Group's cash flow forecasts, considered
the assumptions contained in the budget and medium-term forecasts, and
considered associated principal risks which may impact the Group's performance
over the going concern assessment period to 31 July 2027.
At 30 November 2025, the Group had no debt except for lease liabilities of
£47.5 million. Credit facilities relevant to the review period comprise a
committed £50.0 million Revolving Credit Facility (RCF) (with the expiry date
of 26 July 2027) and an uncommitted £30.0 million accordion facility, both
jointly provided by HSBC and Citibank. These facilities remained undrawn on 30
November 2025. A further uncommitted £5.0 million bank overdraft facility is
also held with HSBC, which was undrawn (FY24: £0.1 million drawn down) at the
year end.
In addition, the Group has £68.0 million of cash and cash equivalents
available to fund its short-term needs, as well as a substantial working
capital position, reflecting net cash due to SThree for placements already
undertaken.
In FY25, the Group's trading performance declined against the prior year,
driven by persisting challenging market conditions, which have extended beyond
the industry's expectations. The total Group net fees declined by 12% YoY on a
like-for-like basis, reflecting protracted soft new placement activity across
Permanent and Contract, partially offset by ongoing strong Contract
extensions. Despite market uncertainties, the Group's long-term prospects and
competitive positioning remain strong, underpinned by its strategic focus on
STEM and Contract, supported by a robust financial position and significant
operational enhancements gradually materialising via our Technology
Improvement Programme.
Based on this evaluation, the Directors have formed a judgement that the Group
has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the period to
31 July 2027, there are no plausible downside scenarios that would cause an
issue for the Group's going concern status, and considered it appropriate to
prepare the Consolidated and Company-only Financial Statements on the going
concern basis.
Climate change consideration
Climate change is a significant issue for the world and the transition to a
low-carbon economy will create both risks and opportunities for the Group. The
management team has considered the impact of climate change in preparing these
Consolidated Financial Statements in the areas as listed below. These
considerations are not viewed to be key areas of judgement or sources of
estimation uncertainty in the current financial year.
The management team considered the impact from climate change on the following
areas:
- The going concern and viability of the Group over the next five years,
including the potential impact of climate-related risks, such as SThree's
offices impacted by heightened physical risks affecting our operational
ability to place contractors and service the existing contracts, resulting in
lower revenue and income. This is subject to the ongoing assessment by the
management team performed using three climate-related scenarios for 2024-2040.
The assessment helps to continually test SThree's strategic resilience and its
flexibility to adapt operations to ever-changing risks and opportunities as a
consequence of climate change to drive continued growth.
- Physical climate risks identified through the Group's TCFD disclosures are
expected to arise over the short and medium term. Management has assessed
whether these risks give rise to indicators of impairment, particularly in
respect of right‑of‑use office assets and concluded that no impairment
indicators exist. The Group's office leases have relatively short unexpired
lease terms, are geographically diversified, and no climate‑related physical
damage or disruption has been identified or is expected within the remaining
lease periods. Accordingly, physical climate risks do not affect the
recoverability of right‑of‑use assets or other asset classes at
30 November 2025.
- Climate‑related risks and the Groups net zero commitments have been
assessed in determining useful lives, residual values and depreciation
policies for non‑current assets. The Groups main assets comprise office ROU
assets, internally developed software and short‑life IT and office
equipment, all of which are expected to be fully depreciated within three to
seven years. The climate initiatives outlined in the TCFD report (fleet
transition, sustainable offices, supplier engagement and reduced travel)
influence operational behaviours but do not require changes to, or early
replacement of, existing assets. Management therefore considers the impact of
climate change on the carrying amount of fixed assets to be
immaterial.
- Share-based payments: some performance conditions of the Long-Term Incentive
Plan (LTIP) for members of the Executive Committee are measured against ESG
metrics since the 2022 financial year. This could impact the future amount of
the share-based payment expense in the Group income statement. However, as the
ESG-related performance condition constitutes 10% of each grant, the impact is
low.
- Segmental reporting: in our response to climate change and transition to a
net zero target, there has not yet been a change to the management information
provided to, and reviewed by, the chief operating decision maker.
Whilst there is currently no material medium-term impact expected from climate
change, the management team is aware of the ever-changing risks and will
continue to regularly monitor these risks against judgements and estimates
made in preparation of the Group's financial statements.
Accounting policies
The accounting policies used in the preparation of the Consolidated Financial
Statements are consistent with those applied in the previous financial year,
except for the adoption of new and amended standards effective as of 1
December 2024 as set out below.
New and amended standards effective in FY25 and adopted by the Group
The following amendments to the accounting standards, issued by the IASB and
endorsed by the UK, have been adopted by the Group and became applicable as of
1 December 2024. The Group did not have to change its accounting policies or
make retrospective adjustments as a result of adopting these amended
standards.
- New disclosure requirements for characteristics of supplier finance
arrangements (Amendments to IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows and IFRS 7 Financial
Instruments:
Disclosures).
- New requirements for measuring lease liability arising in a sale and
leaseback transaction (Amendments to IFRS 16 Leases).
- New classification requirements for liabilities as current or non-current
(Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements).
New and amended standards that are applicable to the Group but not yet
effective
As at the date of authorisation of this Annual Report and Accounts, the
following new standards and amendments to existing standards were in issued by
the IASB, but not yet effective.
- New requirements for lack of exchangeability (Amendments to IAS 21 The
Effects of Changes in Foreign Exchange Rates), endorsed by the UK Endorsement
Board on 17 July 2024 and effective for annual reporting periods beginning on
or after 1 January 2025. These amendments are not expected to have any impact
on the Group in the current or future financial years, as the Group operates
in the highly developed and established countries (refer to note 2 Operating
segments).
- New requirements for presentation within the income statement (IFRS 18
Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, which replaces IAS 1
Presentation of Financial Statements, endorsed by the UK Endorsement Board on
10 December 2025 and effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or
after 1 January 2027. The Group has already initiated its planning process for
adoption. This includes redesigning the income statement and cash flow
statement, and reassessing the disclosures to be included in the notes to the
financial statements.
- New requirements relating to the classification and measurement of financial
instruments and enhanced disclosure requirements (Amendments to IFRS 9
Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments), issued and endorsed
by the UK Endorsement Board and effective for annual reporting periods
beginning on or after 1 January 2026. The Group is currently assessing the
impact of these amendments, which may result in additional disclosures and
changes to the presentation of financial instruments once
adopted.
The Group has not early adopted any standard, interpretation or amendment that
has been issued but is not yet effective.
2. OPERATING SEGMENTS
The Group's operating segments are established on the basis of those
components of the Group that are regularly reviewed by the Group's chief
operating decision making body, in deciding how to allocate resources and in
assessing performance. The Group's business is considered primarily from a
geographical perspective.
The Directors have determined the chief operating decision-making body (CODM)
to be the Executive Committee made up of the Chief Executive Officer, the
Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Operations Officer, the Chief Commercial
Officer and the Chief People Officer and Regional Managing Directors, with
other senior management attending via invitation.
The Group's five reporting segments are DACH, USA, Netherlands, Rest of Europe
and Middle East & Asia.
The Group also presents separately the net fees of its five key markets:
Germany, the Netherlands, the USA, the UK and Japan, as well as a breakdown of
net fees per Contract and Permanent, referred to as 'service mix'.
DACH region comprises Austria, Germany and Switzerland. Rest of Europe
comprises the UK, Belgium and France, and Middle East & Asia includes
Japan and the UAE.
Countries aggregated into DACH, Rest of Europe, Netherlands (including Spain),
and Middle East & Asia have similar economic risks and prospects, i.e.
they are expected to generate similar average gross margins over the long
term, and are similar in each of the following areas:
- the nature of the services (recruitment/candidate placement);
- the class of candidates (candidates, who we place with our clients,
represent skill-sets in Life Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
disciplines); and
- the methods used in which they provide services to clients (independent
contractors, employed contractors and permanent candidates).
The Group's management reporting and controlling systems use accounting
policies that are the same as those described in these financial statements
and the accompanying notes.
Revenue, cost of sales and net fees by reportable
segment
The Group assesses the performance of its operating segments through a measure
of segment profit or loss which is referred to as 'net fees' in the management
reporting and controlling systems. Net fees is the measure of segment profit
comprising revenue less cost of sales.
Revenue Cost of sales Net fees
£'000 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
DACH 397,303 456,051 290,697 328,505 106,606 127,546
Rest of Europe 292,924 353,150 241,430 291,836 51,494 61,314
Netherlands including Spain 280,964 343,571 218,709 62,255 78,532
265,039
USA 289,543 299,229 206,374 217,195 83,169 82,034
Middle East & Asia 41,470 40,905 22,298 21,252 19,172 19,653
1,302,204 1,492,906 979,508 1,123,827 322,696 369,079
Split of revenue from contracts with customers
The Group derives revenue from the transfer of services over time and at a
point in time in the following geographical regions:
2025 DACH Rest of Europe Netherlands including Spain USA Middle East & Asia Total
£'000
Timing of revenue recognition
Over time 375,436 291,460 274,968 278,666 27,508 1,248,038
At a point in time 21,867 1,464 5,996 10,877 13,962 54,166
397,303 292,924 280,964 289,543 41,470 1,302,204
2024 DACH Rest of Europe Netherlands including Spain USA Middle East & Asia Total
£'000
Timing of revenue recognition
Over time 427,228 351,135 334,802 290,774 27,194 1,431,133
At a point in time 28,823 2,015 8,769 8,455 13,711 61,773
456,051 353,150 343,571 299,229 40,905 1,492,906
Major customers
In FY25 and FY24, no single customer generated more than 10% of the Group's
revenue.
Other information
The following segmental analysis has been included as additional disclosure to
the requirements of IFRS 8 Operating Segments.
The Group's revenue from external customers, its net fees and information
about its segment assets (non-current assets excluding deferred tax assets) by
key location are detailed below:
Revenue Cost of sales Net fees
£'000 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
Germany 348,285 393,850 254,175 282,082 94,110 111,768
USA 289,543 299,229 206,374 217,195 83,169 82,034
Netherlands 252,858 318,665 198,726 247,706 54,132 70,959
UK 163,853 226,904 136,112 188,575 27,741 38,329
Japan 16,066 13,356 3,573 2,764 12,493 10,592
RoW* 231,599 240,902 180,548 185,505 51,051 55,397
1,302,204 1,492,906 979,508 1,123,827 322,696 369,079
30 November 30 November
£'000 2025 2024
Non-current assets
UK 29,611 28,334
Germany 19,166 13,887
USA 12,837 7,553
Netherlands 3,751 4,245
Japan 842 1,792
RoW* 3,812 2,528
70,019 58,339
* RoW (Rest of the World) includes all countries other than listed.
Non-current assets do not include Deferred Tax Assets as they are not reviewed
by the CODM.
The following segmental analysis by brands, recruitment classification and
sectors (being the profession of candidates placed) has been included as
additional disclosure to the requirements of IFRS 8 Operating Segments.
Revenue Cost of sales Net fees
£'000 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
Brands
Progressive 525,764 560,519 399,518 422,172 126,246 138,347
Computer Futures 340,335 454,982 250,318 338,826 90,017 116,156
Real Staffing Group 204,689 239,976 151,858 176,938 52,831 63,038
Huxley Associates 231,416 237,429 177,814 185,891 53,602 51,538
1,302,204 1,492,906 979,508 1,123,827 322,696 369,079
Other brands including Global Enterprise Partners, JP Gray and Madison Black,
are rolled into the above brands.
Revenue Cost of sales Net fees
£'000 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
Service mix
Contract 1,248,038 1,431,133 977,379 1,120,516 270,659 310,617
Permanent 54,166 61,773 2,129 3,311 52,037 58,462
1,302,204 1,492,906 979,508 1,123,827 322,696 369,079
Revenue Cost of sales Net fees
£'000 2025 2024 2025 2024 2025 2024
Skills mix
Technology 603,704 747,598 458,582 569,904 145,122 177,694
Engineering 398,001 422,984 299,605 317,654 93,396 105,330
Life Sciences 196,285 221,295 143,843 160,369 52,442 60,926
Other 104,214 101,029 77,478 75,900 26,736 25,129
1,302,204 1,492,906 979,508 1,123,827 322,696 369,079
3. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
Operating profit is stated after charging/(crediting):
£'000 2025 2024
Staff costs 222,183 234,741
Depreciation 16,095 15,230
Amortisation 1,581 24
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment 48 135
Gain on lease modification (42) (69)
Service lease charges - Buildings(1) 1,455 2,464
Service lease charges - Cars(1) 2,025 1,903
Foreign exchange losses 773 742
Research and development tax credits(2) 224 (1,647)
Gain on disposal of subsidiary(3) - (135)
Other income(4) (574) (2,690)
1. Service lease charges represent payments that vary based on factors
other than an index or a rate, such as building maintenance, small repairs,
cleaning charges and other management fees, and are not included in the
present value calculation of lease liabilities and are recognised in the
income statement as they are incurred and presented as operating cash flows.
2. In FY24, the Group submitted claims under the Research and
Development Expenditure Credit (RDEC) scheme for qualifying expenditure
incurred on the TIP over the three years to 30 November 2024. The claims
related to costs expensed to the income statement and amounts capitalised as
assets under construction (see note 10). The RDEC claim reduced the
capitalised cost and will impact the income statement over the useful life of
the assets once amortisation begins.
In FY25, the Group recorded a true-up adjustment to reflect the difference
between the estimated RDEC income recognised in prior year and the final claim
determined during this year. This resulted in a charge of £0.2 million to
operating expenses and an increase of £0.1 million in the credit applied to
capitalised assets.
3. The accumulated foreign exchange net gain reclassified from the
Group's currency translation reserve to the Consolidated Income Statement on
liquidation of two subsidiary companies.
4. £0.6 million (FY24: £2.7 million) recorded during the year as
other income relates to the release of accruals for historically unclaimed
contractor invoices. These invoices, tied to services delivered in prior
years, were during the year and found to be older than the statutory
limitation periods in their respective countries. As a result, the accruals
were released to the income statement.
4. INCOME TAX EXPENSE
(a) Analysis of tax charge for the year
£'000 2025 2024
Current income tax
Corporation tax charged on profits for the year 9,908 18,966
Adjustments in respect of prior periods (2,033) (4,157)
Total current tax charge 7,875 14,809
Deferred income tax
Origination and reversal of temporary differences (1,355) 2,414
Adjustments in respect of prior periods 1,339 725
Total deferred tax (credit)/ charge (16) 3,139
Total income tax charge in the Consolidated Income Statement 7,859 17,948
(b) Reconciliation of the effective tax rate
The Group's tax charge for the year exceeds (FY24: exceeds) the UK statutory
rate and can be reconciled as follows:
£'000 2025 2024
Profit before income tax for the Group 25,533 67,640
Profit before income tax multiplied by the standard rate of corporation tax in 6,383 16,910
the UK at 25.0% (FY24: 25.0%)
Effects of:
Disallowable items 628 1,585
Uncertain tax positions - current year 1,237 826
Uncertain tax positions - prior year (886) (3,054)
Share-based payments 1,173 487
Differing tax rates on overseas earnings (217) 1,744
Utilisation of tax losses brought forward (1,074) (691)
Adjustments in respect of prior periods (694) (396)
Adjustments due to tax rate changes (317) 124
Tax losses for which deferred tax asset was not recognised or derecognised 1,626 413
Total tax charge for the year 7,859 17,948
At the effective tax rate 30.8% 26.5%
(c) Current and deferred tax movement recognised
directly in equity
£'000 2025 2024
Equity-settled share-based payments:
Current tax (charge)/credit (2) 45
Deferred tax charge (60) (55)
62 (10)
The Group expects to receive additional tax deductions in respect of share
options currently unexercised. The Group is required to provide for deferred
tax on all unexercised share options. Where the amount of the tax deduction
(or estimated future tax deduction) exceeds the amount of the related
cumulative remuneration expense, this indicates that the tax deduction relates
not only to remuneration expense but also to an equity item. In this
situation, the excess of the current or deferred tax should be recognised in
equity. At 30 November 2025, a deferred tax asset of £0.2 million (FY24:
£0.5 million) was recognised in respect of these options.
On 17 November 2022, the UK Government confirmed its intention to implement
the G20-OECD Inclusive Framework Pillar 2 rules in the UK, including a
Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax rule. This legislation, which was
enacted on 11 July 2023, will seek to ensure that UK-headquartered
multinational enterprises pay a minimum tax rate of 15% on UK and overseas
profit for accounting periods commencing after 31 December 2023.
While most jurisdictions in which the Group operates have statutory tax rates
above 15% and are therefore expected to fall within the transitional safe
harbour exemptions, the interim assessment performed indicated that a top-up
tax may be applicable to profits arising from the Group's operations in
Ireland. The impact was not considered material in the context of the Group's
overall financial position and was therefore not recorded. No additional
current or deferred tax has been recognised.
The Group applies the mandatory temporary exemption from recognising and
disclosing deferred tax assets and liabilities related to Pillar Two income
taxes, in accordance with the amendments to IAS 12 Income Taxes issued in May
2023.The safe harbour position has been analysed for each jurisdiction and we
would expect all material jurisdictions to pass safe harbour tests, therefore
no material impacts are expected.
5. EARNINGS PER SHARE
EPS is calculated by dividing the profit for the year attributable to owners
of the Company by the weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding
during the year excluding shares held as treasury shares and those held in the
EBT, which for accounting purposes are treated in the same manner as shares
held in the treasury reserve.
Diluted EPS is calculated by adjusting the weighted average number of ordinary
shares outstanding to assume conversion of all dilutive ordinary shares
arising from exercising employee stock options and tracker shares.
The following tables reflect the income and share data used in the basic and
diluted EPS calculations.
£'000 2025 2024
Earnings
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company 17,674 49,692
million 2025 2024
Number of shares
Weighted average number of shares used for basic EPS 129.0 132.8
Dilutive effect of share plans 1.1 1.3
Diluted weighted average number of shares used for diluted EPS 130.1 134.1
pence 2025 2024
Basic EPS 13.7 37.4
Diluted EPS 13.6 37.1
6. INTANGIBLE ASSETS
During the current year, the Group increased its intangible assets book value
by a net amount of £3.8 million to £16.0 million (FY24: £12.1 million).
This reflects the completion of the Group-wide TIP, with all developed assets
under this project brought into active use during the year.
As part of the post‑implementation phase of TIP, the Group also undertook a
review of its internally generated software and system development assets.
This review identified a number of legacy systems and related assets that had
become obsolete following the rollout of the new TIP platform. As a result,
fully amortised software and system development assets with a gross cost of
£36.9 million were derecognised during the year. These disposals had no
impact on the income statement, as all assets were fully amortised before
being written off.
In FY25, the Group also incurred £2.5 (FY24: £2.6 million) million in costs
which were not directly attributable to the assets developed under the TIP
(such as project management and other administration-related tasks) and which
were expensed immediately to the income statement.
The Group continues to undertake development work, including the addition of
new AI functionality and enhancements to the existing platform. Costs
associated with this ongoing development are being capitalised and recorded
under assets under development.
Amortisation of assets related to the TIP commenced early in the year and
amounted to £1.6 million (FY24: £0.1 million), and was included in
administrative
expenses.
7. CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS
£'000 30 November 2025 30 November 2024
Cash at bank 67,962 69,756
Bank overdraft - (88)
Net cash and cash equivalents 67,962 69,668
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash and short-term bank deposits with an
original maturity of three months or less, net of outstanding bank overdrafts.
The Group has three cash pooling arrangements in place at HSBC US (USD), HSBC
UK (GBP) and Citibank (EUR).
8. SHARE CAPITAL
Share capital
During the year, the Company purchased 7,779,335 (FY24: none) shares for
immediate cancellation. When cancelling its ordinary shares, the Company
transferred amounts equivalent to the nominal value of the cancelled shares
into the capital redemption reserve. As a result, the share capital reduced by
£0.1 million to £1.3 million (FY24: £1.4 million).
During the year, 30,610 new ordinary shares were issued (FY24: 698,585),
resulting in a share premium of less than £0.1 million (FY24: £2.4 million).
Of the shares issued, 30,544 (FY24: 508,396) were issued to tracker
shareholders on settlement of vested tracker shares and 66 (FY24: 190,189)
pursuant to the exercise of share awards under the Save-As-You-Earn (SAYE)
scheme.
At 30 November 2025, the Company's issued share capital consisted of
127,858,067 ordinary shares of £0.01 each (FY24: 135,606,792). Of these,
35,767 shares (FY24: 35,767) were held directly by the Company as treasury
shares. This is separate from shares held by the EBT, which are presented
within the treasury reserve.
Employee Benefit Trust
During the year, the EBT purchased 578,761 (FY24: 2,340,585) of SThree plc
shares. The average price paid per share was 205 pence (FY24: 427 pence). The
total acquisition cost of the purchased shares was £1.2 million (FY24: £10.0
million), for which the treasury reserve was reduced. During the year, the EBT
utilised 1,766,792 (FY24: 2,496,991) shares on settlement of vested tracker
shares and LTIP awards. At the year end, the EBT held 579,021 (FY24:
1,767,052) shares.
9. LEASES
The leases which are recognised in the consolidated statement of financial
position are principally in respect of buildings and cars. The Group's
right-of-use assets and lease liabilities are presented below:
£'000 30 November 30 November
2025 2024
Buildings 42,220 35,577
Cars 908 976
Total right-of-use assets 43,128 36,553
Current lease liabilities 10,549 10,419
Non-current lease liabilities 36,952 29,362
Total lease liabilities 47,501 39,781
The consolidated income statement includes the following amounts relating to
depreciation of right-to-use assets:
£'000 2025 2024
Buildings 12,249 11,868
Cars 859 1,076
Total depreciation charge of right-of-use assets 13,108 12,944
In the current year, interest expense on leases amounted to £2.1 million
(FY24: £1.3 million) and was recognised within finance costs in the
consolidated income statement.
The total cash outflow for leases in FY25 was £14.6 million (FY24: £14.4
million) and comprised the principal and interest element of recognised lease
liabilities.
10. OTHER FINANCIAL LIABILITIES
The Group maintains a committed RCF of £50.0 million along with an
uncommitted £30.0 million accordion facility, both jointly provided by HSBC
and Citibank, giving the Group an option to increase its total borrowings
under the facility to £80.0 million. During the current and previous year,
the Group did not draw down under these facilities. The Group also has an
uncommitted £5.0 million overdraft facility with HSBC, which was undrawn
(FY24: £0.1 million draw down) at the year end..
The RCF is subject to financial covenants and any funds borrowed under the
facility bear a minimum annual interest rate of 1.2% above the benchmark
Sterling Overnight Index Average (SONIA). As the Group did not draw down under
these facilities, the finance costs of £2.1 million (FY24: £1.4 million)
were mainly related to lease interest.
The covenants, which the RCF is subject to, require the Group to maintain
financial ratios over interest cover, leverage and guarantor cover. The Group
has complied with these covenants throughout the year.
Reconciliation of financial liabilities to cash flows arising from financing
activities:
£'000
Balance at 1 December 2023 29,017
Cash flows:
Interest paid to bank (108)
Payments of principal and interest element of lease liabilities (14,448)
Total cash flows (14,556)
Lease increases 25,311
Lease termination (868)
Other movements(*) 877
Balance at 30 November 2024 and 1 December 2024 39,781
Cash flows:
Interest paid to bank (20)
Payments of principal and interest element of lease liabilities (14,553)
Total cash flows (14,573)
Lease increases 21,447
Lease terminations (1)
Other non-cash movements(*) 847
Balance at 30 November 2025 47,501
* Other movements in FY25 and FY24 primarily comprised unwind of the discount
on lease liabilities and forex revaluation.
11. DIVIDENDS
£'000 2025 2024
Amounts recognised as distributions to equity holders in the year
Interim dividend of 5.0 pence for FY23 per share (note a) - 494
Final dividend of 11.6 pence for FY23 per share (note b) - 15,366
Interim dividend of 5.1 pence for FY24 per share (note c) 6,807 -
Final dividend of 9.2 pence for FY24 per share (note d) 11,735 -
18,542 15,860
£'000 2025 2024
Amounts arising in respect of the financial year
Interim dividend of 5.1 pence for FY25 (5.1 pence for FY24) per share (note e) 6,490 6,824
Proposed final dividend of 9.2 pence for FY25 (9.2 pence for FY24) per share 11,866 12,221
(note f)
18,356 19,045
Note a
The FY23 interim dividend of 5.0 pence per share was paid on 8 December 2023.
The £6.4 million in funds, required for its settlement, were transferred by
the Group to the share administrator before 30 November 2023.
The £0.5 million shown as distributed in FY24 reflected primarily payments to
shareholders who claimed the FY23 interim dividend post the FY23 year end.
Note b
The FY23 final dividend of 11.6 pence per share was paid on 7 June 2024 to
shareholders on the register of SThree plc on 10 May 2024.
Note c
The FY24 interim dividend of 5.1 pence per share was paid on 6 December 2024
to shareholders on record at 8 November 2024.
Note d
The final dividend for the year ended 30 November 2024 of 9.2 pence per share
was approved by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 29 April 2025.
The £11.7 million in funds, required for settlement of the FY24 final
dividend, were transferred to the share administrator on 4 June 2025, and the
final dividend was paid on 6 June 2025 to those shareholders on record at 9
May 2025.
Note e
The FY25 interim dividend of 5.1 pence (5.1 pence for FY24) per share was paid
on 12 December 2025 to shareholders on record at 14 November 2025. The £6.5
million in funds, required for settlement of the FY25 interim dividend, were
transferred to the share administrator after 1 December 2025.
Note f
The Board has proposed the FY25 final dividend of 9.2 pence (9.2 pence for
FY24) per share, to be paid on 12 June 2026 to shareholders on record at 15
May 2026. This proposed final dividend is subject to approval by shareholders
at the Company's next Annual General Meeting on 29 April 2026, and therefore
has not been included as a liability in these financial statements.
12. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
The Group's significant related parties are as disclosed in the Group's 2025
annual financial statements. There were no other material differences in
related parties or related party transactions in the year compared to the
prior year.
13. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
There were no subsequent events following 30 November 2025.
14. ALTERNATIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES (APMs): DEFINITIONS AND RECONCILIATIONS
In discussing the performance of the Group, comparable measures are used.
The Group discloses comparable performance measures to enable users to focus
on the underlying performance of the business on a basis which is common to
both periods for which these measures are presented. The reconciliation of
comparable measures to the directly related measures calculated in accordance
with UK-adopted International Accounting Standards (IAS) is as follows.
APMs in constant currency
As the Group operates in 11 countries, and with many different currencies, it
is affected by foreign exchange movements, and the reported financial results
reflect this. However, the Group business is managed against targets which are
set to be comparable between years and within them, for otherwise foreign
currency movements would undermine the management ability to drive the
business forward and control it. Within this results announcement, comparable
results have been highlighted on a constant currency basis as well as the
results on a reported basis which reflect the actual foreign currency effects
experienced.
The Group evaluates its operating and financial performance on a constant
currency basis (i.e. without giving effect to the impact of variation of
foreign currency exchange rates from year to year). Constant currency APMs are
calculated by applying the prior year foreign exchange rates to the current
and prior financial year results to remove the impact of exchange
rate.
Measures on a constant currency basis enable users to focus on the performance
of the business on a basis which is not affected by changes in foreign
currency exchange rates applicable to the Group's operating activities from
period to period.
The calculations of the APMs on a constant currency basis and the
reconciliation to the most directly related measures calculated in accordance
with UK-adopted IAS are as
follows:
£'000, unless otherwise stated 2025
Revenue Net fees Operating profit Operating profit conversion ratio* Profit before tax
Basic EPS (pence)
Reported 1,302,204 322,696 26,135 8.1% 25,533 13.7
Currency impact 4,500 1,635 316 0.1% 301 0.2
In constant currency 1,306,704 324,331 26,451 8.2% 25,834 13.9
£'000, unless otherwise stated 2024
Revenue Net fees Operating profit Operating profit conversion ratio* Profit before tax
Basic EPS (pence)
Reported 1,492,906 369,079 66,194 17.9% 67,640 37.4
*Operating profit conversion ratio represents operating profit over net fees.
To calculate the YoY variances in constant currency, management compared the
FY25 results in constant currency versus the FY24 reported results.
Other APMs
Net cash excluding lease liabilities
Net cash is an APM used by the Directors to evaluate the Group's capital
structure and leverage. Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents less
current and non-current borrowings excluding lease liabilities, less bank
overdraft, as illustrated below:
£'000 2025 2024
Cash and cash equivalents 67,962 69,756
Bank overdraft - (88)
Net cash 67,962 69,668
EBITDA
In addition to measuring financial performance of the Group based on operating
profit, the Directors also measure performance based on EBITDA. It is
calculated by adding back to the reported operating profit non-cash items such
as the depreciation of property, plant and equipment (PPE), the amortisation
and impairment of intangible assets, loss on disposal of PPE and intangible
assets, gain on lease modification and the employee share options charge.
Where relevant, the Group also uses EBITDA to measure the level of financial
leverage of the Group by comparing EBITDA to net debt.
A reconciliation of reported operating profit for the year, the most directly
comparable UK IAS measure, to EBITDA is set out below.
£'000 2025 2024
Reported operating profit for the year 26,135 66,194
Depreciation of PPE 16,095 15,230
Amortisation and impairment of intangible assets 1,581 24
Loss on disposal of PPE and intangible assets 48 135
Gain on lease modification (42) (69)
Gain on disposal of subsidiaries - (135)
Employee share options charge 4,662 4,986
EBITDA 48,479 86,365
Dividend cover
The Group uses dividend cover as an APM to ensure that its dividend policy is
sustainable and in line with the overall strategy for the use of cash.
Dividend cover is defined as the number of times the Company is capable of
paying dividends to shareholders from the profits earned during a financial
year, and it is calculated as the Group's profit for the year attributable to
owners of the Company over the total dividend paid to ordinary shareholders.
£'000 2025 2024
Profit for the year attributable to owners of the Company A 17,674 49,692
Dividend proposed to be paid to shareholders (note 11) B 18,356 19,045
Dividend cover (A ÷ B) 1.0 2.6
Contract margin
The Group uses contract margin as an APM to evaluate contract business quality
and the service offered to customers. Contract margin is defined as contract
net fees as a percentage of contract revenue.
£'000, unless otherwise stated 2025 2024
Contract net fees A 270,659 310,617
Contract revenue B 1,248,038 1,431,133
Contract margin (A ÷ B) 21.7% 21.7%
Total shareholder return (TSR)
The Group uses TSR as an APM to measure the growth in value of a shareholding
over three years, assuming that dividends are reinvested to purchase
additional shares at the closing price applicable on the ex-dividend date. The
TSR is calculated by the external independent data-stream party.
pence, unless otherwise stated 2025 2024
SThree plc TSR return index value: three-month average to 30 Nov 2022 (FY24: 355.43 528.47
30 Nov 2021)
SThree plc TSR return index value: three-month average to 30 Nov 2025 (FY24: 178.83 382.78
30 Nov 2024)
Total shareholder return -49.7% -27.6%
15. ANNUAL REPORT AND ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
The Annual General Meeting of SThree plc is to be held on 29 April 2026.
The 2025 Annual Report and Accounts and Notice of 2026 Annual General Meeting
will be sent to shareholders shortly. Copies will be available on the
Company's website www.sthree.com or from the Company Secretary, Level 16, 8
Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4BQ.
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