Results for the year ended 31 December 2020

17 March 2021

Empresaria Group plc ("Empresaria" or the "Group")

Results for the year ended 31 December 2020

Profitability, operational resilience and financial strength

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Empresaria, the global specialist staffing group, reports its unaudited preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2020.

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Highlights

​	2020	2019	% change	% change (constant currency)(2)
Revenue	£256.5m	£358.0m	-28%	-27%
Net fee income	£54.0m	£74.5m	-28%	-27%
Operating (loss)/profit	£(1.0)m	£4.0m	-125%	​
Adjusted operating profit (1)	£6.2m	£10.4m	-40%	-39%
Loss/(profit) before tax	£(2.0)m	£2.9m	-169%	​
Adjusted profit before tax (1)	£5.2m	£9.3m	-44%	​
Diluted loss per share	(6.2)p	(1.6)p	-288%	​
Adjusted diluted earnings per share (1)	4.1p	8.5p	-52%	​

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• Strong start to 2020 with year-on-year operating profit growth in every month of the first quarter

• Benefits of diversification by sector and geography demonstrated throughout the year

• Resilience of the Group's balance sheet proven - adjusted net debt reduced to £13.6m (2019: £19.1m)

• Net fee income down 28% to £54.0m as a result of the impact of COVID-19

• Adjusted operating profit down 40% to £6.2m - profitable in every quarter of 2020

• Strategic and operational investments protected

• 2021 guidance reinstated

• Resumption of dividend with a final dividend of 1.0p per share proposed (2019: nil)

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1. Adjusted to exclude amortisation of intangible assets identified in business combinations, impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets, exceptional items, fair value charges on acquisition of non-controlling shares and, in the case of earnings, any related tax.

2. The constant currency movement is calculated by translating the 2019 results at the 2020 exchange rates.

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An interview with management covering the Group's performance is available here.

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Chief Executive Officer, Rhona Driggs, commented:

"Our results for 2020 demonstrated the resilience of our operating model and the benefits of our diversification by sector and geography. The swift actions we took early in the pandemic helped to protect our profitability. While cost was a key consideration, our focus on the Group's operations did not waiver as we protected, and in several cases accelerated, our key operational initiatives and investments. Early indications of trading in 2021 are positive and although, due to our strong start to last year, adjusted profits for the first half of 2021 are likely to be behind the first half of 2020 we expect for the full year to deliver adjusted profits in line with or better than 2020. We enter 2021 well positioned to exit the pandemic stronger than we entered it and to take advantage of recovery in our markets."

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Investor Presentation

In line with Empresaria's commitment to ensuring appropriate communication structures are in place for all sections of its shareholder base, management will deliver an online results presentation open to all existing and potential investors via the Investor Meet Company platform on Thursday 18 March 2021 at 4:15pm UK time.

Questions can be submitted pre-event through the platform or at any time during the live presentation. Management may not be in a position to answer every question it receives but will address those it can while remaining within the confines of information already disclosed to the market.

Q&A responses will be published at the earliest opportunity on the Investor Meet Company platform. Investors can sign up for free here.

Those who have already registered and requested to meet the Company will be automatically invited.

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Enquiries:

Empresaria Group plc

Rhona Driggs, Chief Executive Officer

Tim Anderson, Chief Financial Officer

via Alma PR

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N+1 Singer (Nominated Adviser and Broker)

Shaun Dobson/James Moat

020 7614 3000

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Alma PR (Financial PR)

Sam Modlin

David Ison

020 3405 0205

[email protected]

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Notes for editors:

• Empresaria Group plc is a global specialist staffing group offering temporary and contract recruitment, permanent recruitment and offshore recruitment services across 6 sectors: Professional; IT; Healthcare; Property, Construction and Engineering; Commercial and Offshore Recruitment Services.

• Empresaria operates in 20 countries across the world including the 4 largest staffing markets of the US, Japan, UK and Germany along with a strong presence elsewhere in Asia Pacific and Latin America.

• Empresaria is listed on AIM under ticker EMR.

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For the full announcement click here.

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