REG - Staffline Group PLC - Full year Trading Update

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RNS Number : 5128P  Staffline Group PLC  20 January 2026

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No.
596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the
Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR. Upon the publication of this
announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public
domain.

 

 

20 January 2026

Staffline Group plc

("Staffline" or the "Company")

 

Full year Trading Update

 

-  FY 2025 results expected to be significantly ahead of market
expectations(1)

-  Gross profit and operating profit have increased by 10.6% and 28.3%,
respectively

-  11.1% YoY growth delivers 5-year high in Recruitment GB Q4 traditional
peak temporary worker hours

-  Continued balance sheet strength and market reach supports a significant
new business pipeline

 

Staffline (AIM: STAF), the recruitment group, provides the following trading
update for the year ended 31 December 2025 ("FY 2025" or the "Period").

 

Financial Highlights(2)

 

                                                FY 2025     FY 2024    Change
 Revenue                                        £1,106.7m   £992.9m    +11.5%
 Gross profit                                   £78.3m      £70.8m     +10.6%
 Gross profit margin %                          7.1%        7.1%       0.0%pts
 Operating profit(3)                            £12.7m      £9.9m(3)   +28.3%
 Gross profit to operating profit conversion %  16.2%       14.0%      +2.2%pts
 Profit before taxation                         £7.1m       £5.0m      +42.0%
 Net cash (pre-IFRS 16)                         £1.5m       £9.6m      -£8.3m
 Net cash/(debt) (post-IFRS 16)                 £(2.5)m     £4.9m      -£8.1m

 

·    Revenue up 11.5% to £1,106.7m, largely driven by a significant new
strategic partnership with a leading logistics provider and continued market
share growth in the blue-collar sector

·    Gross profit up 10.6% to £78.3m, driven by strong performances in
both divisions:

o  6.8% increase in temporary hours worked in Recruitment GB

o  10.3% increase in permanent white-collar recruitment fees in Ireland

·    Operating profit up 28.3% to £12.7m, exceeding market expectations
and supported by tight cost control

·    Profit before taxation up 42.0% to £7.1m, ahead of market
expectations and with no material non-underlying items

·    Net cash (pre-IFRS 16) of £1.5m, better than expected, reflecting
the planned working capital investment in both new customers, including the
new strategic partnership, as well as in the strong growth in existing
customer activity

·    Ongoing share buyback programme of up to £7.5m, repurchasing a total
consideration of £6.5m in FY 2025

 

(1)Company-compiled consensus for FY 2025 operating profit, profit before tax,
and net debt (pre-IFRS 16), based on the mean average of two analyst
estimates, stands at £11.9m, £6.0m, and £(2.7)m, respectively.

(2)Presented on a continuing basis. These figures are unaudited and
provisional.

(3)FY 2024 operating profit is stated after charging £0.2m of non-underlying
expenses.

 

 

 

Summary

 

Staffline's strategic shift to focus on pure-play recruitment has contributed
to an excellent financial and operational performance for FY 2025. Organic
growth remains a key strategic priority, delivering remarkable success during
2025. Staffline's scale and reach, combined with its financial strength and
high governance standards, ideally positions the business in a market where
competition remains fragmented and customers, both new and existing, continue
to consolidate their labour suppliers.

 

In addition, the Company's strong balance sheet and track record of cash
generation, before working capital investment, support the Board's disciplined
capital allocation policy and ongoing commitment to delivering shareholder
value.

 

Recruitment GB

 

Recruitment GB has delivered an excellent trading performance across FY 2025,
with a 6.8% year-on-year increase in temporary worker hours worked, driven by
market share gains across both new and existing customers. The division's
ongoing cost efficiency programme continues to improve the gross profit to
operating profit conversion ratio, mitigating the effects of inflation.

 

Organic growth remains a key priority as the Company seeks to expand market
reach with both existing and new customers. A notable success includes a
significant new strategic partnership secured in May 2025 with a leading UK
logistics company to provide temporary drivers, security and warehouse
operatives. At 31 December 2025, an additional c.1,800 temporary staff had
been onboarded under this new partnership, further expanding Staffline's
operational footprint.

 

In addition, Recruitment GB successfully converted a number of new business
opportunities in H2 2025, including returning to full operational capacity
with two customers impacted by cybersecurity disruption. Delivery during the
festive peak, the busiest trading period for the Company, was strong, with the
maximum weekly temporary hours worked reaching a five-year high, leading to Q4
temporary worker hours being 11.1% up on prior year.

 

Recruitment Ireland

 

Recruitment Ireland generated 10.3% year-on-year growth in permanent
recruitment fees despite the generally weak job market, focusing on the health
and social care and public services sectors. The growth in temporary hours
worked underpinned the turnaround from H1 2025, with momentum expected to
continue into FY 2026.

 

Another significant contributor to the success of Recruitment Ireland in FY
2025 was Staffline's focus on RPO and Managed Services, particularly in the
Republic of Ireland. Demand is generally stronger in the larger market of the
Republic, with public spending outpacing Northern Ireland and increasing
year-on-year. Demand from branch-led high street recruitment also showed signs
of recovery, with new offices contributing during the year. Finally, tight
control of the division's cost base ensured financial results exceeded
original management expectations.

 

Albert Ellis, Chief Executive Officer of Staffline, commented:

 

"We are delighted to have delivered such a strong performance in FY 2025,
underpinned by another successful Christmas peak trading period and
significant new contract wins. Following the disposal of the PeoplePlus
training business in Q1, Staffline has been able to focus exclusively on the
recruitment sector, using its financial strength and specialist expertise to
grow its market share significantly in a challenging jobs market.

 

I want to express my gratitude and thanks to all Staffline employees and
temporary staff who have worked tirelessly during 2025 to make this such a
successful year. We start 2026 with cautious optimism despite the continuing
macro economic challenges, and the Board's expectations for 2026 are
unchanged."

 

 

 

For further information, please contact:

 Staffline Group plc                                                 via Vigo Consulting

 www.stafflinegroupplc.co.uk (http://www.stafflinegroupplc.co.uk/)

 Albert Ellis, Chief Executive Officer

 Daniel Quint, Chief Financial Officer
 Panmure Liberum (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                      020 3100 2222

 www.panmureliberum.com (http://www.panmureliberum.com)

 Nick How / Satbir Kler
 Zeus (Joint Broker)                                                 020 3829 5000

 https://zeuscapital.co.uk/ (https://zeuscapital.co.uk/)

 David Foreman (Investment Banking)

 Nick Searle (Sales)

 Vigo Consulting (Financial PR)                                      020 7390 0230

 www.vigoconsulting.com (http://www.vigoconsulting.com/)             Staffline@vigoconsulting.com

 Jeremy Garcia / Anna Sutton

 

About Staffline - Recruitment

Enabling the Future of Work™

Staffline is one of the UK's leading Recruitment groups. It has two divisions:

 

Recruitment GB

The Recruitment GB business is a leading provider of flexible blue-collar
workers, supplying up to c.40,000 staff per day on average, from over 500
sites, across a wide range of industries including supermarkets, drinks,
driving, food processing, logistics and manufacturing.

 

Recruitment Ireland

The Recruitment Ireland business is a leading end to end solutions provider
operating across multiple industries, ten branch locations and ten onsite
customer locations, supplying c.4,500 staff per day on average, and offering
RPO, MSP, temporary and permanent solutions across public and private sectors
throughout the island of Ireland.

 

 

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