Hays Regulatory News (HAS)

PRELIMINARY RESULTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

30 JUNE 2018

30 August 2018

RECORD INTERNATIONAL PROFITS AND RECORD £128.4m TOTAL DIVIDENDS

Note: unless otherwise stated all growth rates discussed in this statement are LFL (like-for-like) year-on-year net fees and profits, representing organic growth of continuing operations at constant currency

· Operating profit up 15% to £243.4m, driven by strong growth in our International businesses. Group Conversion Rate up 50bps to 22.7%(2)

· Australia & New Zealand (ANZ): Strong net fee and operating profit growth of 14%, broad-based growth across all Australian regions and specialisms. Record numbers of Temp and Contracting workers

· Germany: Record net fees up 16%, with operating profit up 4% (c.17% and c.7% respectively on a trading day-adjusted basis, given three fewer working days(3)). Significant investment in people, offices and systems

· UK & Ireland (UK&I): 2% net fee growth, with operating profit up 13% on good cost control, helped by certain IT assets becoming fully depreciated. Market stable overall, despite ongoing economic uncertainty

· Rest of World (RoW): Strong net fee growth of 17%, with operating leverage driving excellent profit growth of 51%. 21 markets delivered record net fees including France, the USA, Belgium and China

· Significant strategic investments: During the year we continued to invest in our key markets via:

- Consultants: headcount up 8%, driven by Germany and RoW both up 13% YoY as we seek to further capitalise on long-term structural growth opportunities. Canada, China and the USA all up over 20%

- Infrastructure: Three new offices opened in Germany, four in RoW and c.20 office expansions across our global network. IT system enhancements, designed to deliver scale economies, completed in Germany & France

- Technology: Strengthened partnerships with Xing, Google and Stack Overflow, which improve consultant data connectivity. Introduction of new candidate engagement tools, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud

· Closing net cash of £122.9m, with strong 100% conversion of operating profit into operating cash flow

· Proposed increase in full-year core dividend of 18%, in line with earnings, to 3.81p per share and special dividend of £72.9m (5.00p per share). Total FY18 dividends of £128.4m (2017: £108.2m)

Commenting on the results Alistair Cox, Chief Executive, said:

"2018 was a landmark year for the Group. We successfully completed our ambitious 2013 plan, passed £1 billion in net fees for the first time and 22 countries delivered all-time records. Our RoW business was the standout performer with excellent profit growth of 51%, despite significant investment. We further strengthened our leading positions in key markets like Australia and Germany, and our UK business delivered a good profit performance, despite macro uncertainty. Overall cash generation was excellent, enabling the Board to propose increasing the full year core dividend by 18% and propose the Group's second special dividend, of £72.9 million.

Looking ahead, conditions remain positive in virtually all of our markets. We are investing significantly in key growth markets where we see structural and market share opportunities, notably Germany, France and the USA. We continue to build on our scale and diversity and are focused on driving profitable, cash-generative growth. The sheer scale and diversity of our global platform combined with our highly experienced management teams means we are well-positioned to capitalise on the growth opportunities identified in our 2022 plan." 

(1) Net Fees comprise turnover less remuneration of temporary workers and other recruitment agencies.

(2) Conversion Rate is the conversion of net fees into operating profit.

(3) The estimated working day impact is calculated on our Germany Temp & Contractor businesses only, we make no estimate of the impact on our Perm business. It represents an assumption based on recent trends of revenues / working day in our major Temp and Contractor businesses. 

(4) The underlying Temp gross margin is calculated as Temp net fees divided by Temp gross revenue and relates solely to Temp placements in which Hays generates net fees and specifically excludes transactions in which Hays acts as agent on behalf of workers supplied by third party agencies and arrangements where the Company provides major payrolling services.

(5) Represents percentage of Group net fees and operating profit.

Enquiries

Results presentation & webcast

The results presentation will take place at the offices of UBS at 5 Broadgate, London, EC2M 2QS at 9:00am on 30 August 2018. This will also be available as a live webcast on our website, www.haysplc.com/investors/results-centre. A recording of the webcast will be posted on our website as soon as practicable.

A copy of this press release and presentation materials will also be made available on our website, www.haysplc.com/investors/results-centre.

Reporting calendar

Hays Group Overview

Hays has 10,978 employees in 257 offices in 33 countries. In many of our global markets, the vast majority of professional and skilled recruitment is still done in-house, with minimal outsourcing to recruitment agencies, which presents substantial long-term structural growth opportunities. This has been a key driver of the rapid diversification and internationalisation of the Group, with the International business representing 76% of the Group's net fees as at 30 June 2018, compared with 25% in 2005.

Our 7,464 consultants work in a broad range of sectors, with no sector specialism representing more than 21% of Group net fees. While Accountancy & Finance, Construction & Property and IT represent 50% of Group net fees, our expertise across 20 professional and skilled recruitment specialisms gives us opportunities to rapidly develop newer markets by replicating these long-established areas of expertise.

In addition to this international and sectoral diversification, the Group's net fees are generated 58% from temporary and 42% permanent placement markets. This balance gives our business model relative resilience. Our diversified business model continues to be a key driver of the Group's financial performance.

Introduction & market backdrop

We have delivered a strong financial performance for the year. Net fees increased by 12% on both an actual and like-for-like basis. Operating profit was £243.4 million, up 15%, again on both an actual and like-for-like basis, and we converted 100% of operating profit into operating cash flow. Our industry-leading conversion rate(2) improved by 50bps to 22.7% (2017: 22.2%), driven by positive leverage in RoW. Our cash performance was strong, and we ended the year with net cash of £122.9 million.

As a result of the above, the Board proposes to increase the final core dividend by 22% to 2.75p per share, resulting in an increase to the full-year core dividend to 3.81p per share, up 18% on prior year and covered 3.0x by earnings. Additionally, the strong cash position delivered and our confidence in outlook enables the Board to propose a further special dividend of 5.00p per share, in line with our dividend policy.

During the year, overall market conditions remained strong, with many clear opportunities to grow, notably in Australia, Germany and RoW. Within RoW, our Asia and Americas growth accelerated throughout the year. In the UK, our markets remain uncertain but are stable overall.

Against this backdrop, we maintained our long-established balanced approach, investing quickly to capitalise on growth opportunities, whilst focusing on driving consultant productivity and overall cost control to maximise the Group's financial performance, profit and cash generation.

Foreign exchange

Overall, net currency movements versus Sterling were minimal in the year. Over the course of the year to 30 June 2018, exchange rate movements reduced net fees by £0.1 million, and increased operating profit by £1.0 million.

Fluctuations in the rates of the Group's key operating currencies versus Sterling continue to represent a significant sensitivity for the reported performance of our business. By way of illustration, each 1 cent movement in annual exchange rates of the Australian Dollar and Euro impacts net fees by £1.1 million and £3.8 million respectively per annum; and operating profits by £0.4 million and £1.2 million respectively per annum.

The rate of exchange between the Australian Dollar and Sterling over the year ended 30 June 2018 averaged AUD 1.7388 and closed at AUD 1.7847. As at 28 August 2018 the rate stood at AUD 1.7535. The rate of exchange between the Euro and Sterling over the year ended 30 June 2018 averaged €1.1290 and closed at €1.1307. As at 28 August 2018 the rate stood at €1.0996.

The impact of these movements in foreign exchange rates means that if we retranslate the Group's full-year operating profit of £243.4 million at current exchange rates, the actual reported result would increase by c.£3 million to c.£246 million.

Strong growth in International Temp and Perm

Net fees in Temp, which incorporates our Contracting business and represented 58% of Group net fees, increased by 10%. This comprised a volume increase of 13%, partially offset by underlying Temp margins(4) down 50bps at 15.9% (2017: 16.4%), primarily due to business mix and a reduction in Temp margin in our Australia, Germany and UK markets. Net fees in Perm increased by 16%, with volumes up 11% and our average Perm net fee up 5%. Perm growth in our International businesses was strong and broad-based, while Perm net fees grew by 1% in the UK.

Movements in consultant headcount

Consultant headcount ended June 2018 at 7,464, up 8% year-on-year. In ANZ, consultant headcount was up 10% year-on-year, led by Australia up 12%. Our Germany consultant headcount was up 13%. In the UK&I, the division's consultant headcount was down 2% in the year, through natural attrition. In RoW, consultant headcount increased by 13% year-on-year, including material investments in the USA, Canada and China, where headcount was up 21%, 23% and 23% respectively. Over the last six months, Group consultant headcount was flat (versus December 2017).

Office network changes & global specialism roll-out

Our focus through the year remained on building scale and critical mass across our existing platform of 33 countries. We continued to make further good progress in rolling out our IT Contracting business into markets such as Belgium, Canada and Switzerland. We opened three new offices in Germany and four in RoW. We expanded a further c.20 offices globally during the year.

Investing in technology, responding to change and enhancing intellectual property

We give our consultants a powerful range of technology tools which improves their productivity, enabling them to find the ideal candidate for their clients' roles more quickly and effectively than the competition. To build these tools we have invested substantially over many years in our own resources. We have constructed proprietary systems and fostered market-leading relationships with important players in the technology world including Google, LinkedIn, SEEK in Australia and Xing in Germany. These investments continue to pay off, allowing us to receive and process over 10.5 million CVs a year, and enabling our consultants to perform complex searches of our global OneTouch database in seconds. Our recently-launched Sales Planner tool gives us distinct and insightful information to help us predict client demands ahead of time and improve consultant productivity.

Technology is essential to the successful delivery of our "Find & Engage" recruitment marketing model, including our recently-developed "Approachability Index". The roll-out of Salesforce software will also help us with targeted engagement with our candidate pool. In a world where speed of response and quality of relationships are key to success, these tools, combined with the world-class expertise of our consultants, generate real competitive advantages. They also help grow our market share and leadership, and improve our financial performance. For example, in FY18 our average billings per consultant grew by 1% to c.£145k, in part driven by technology productivity gains. This 1% gain equates to c.£11 million in incremental FY18 Group net fees.

Australia & New Zealand (19%(5) net fees, 28%(5) operating profits)

Strong and broad-based performance, backed by investment

In Australia & New Zealand, net fees increased by 14% to £199.4 million and operating profit was up 14% to £69.1 million. This represented a conversion rate(2) of 34.7% (2017: 34.8%). The difference between actual and like-for-like growth rates was primarily the result of the depreciation in the average rate of exchange of the Australian Dollar versus Sterling during the year, which decreased net fees by £6.1 million and operating profits by £2.2 million.

Net fees in Perm grew strongly by 16%, while Temp, which represented 65% of ANZ net fees in the year, grew by 13%. The number of Temp and Contracting workers reached a new record in the year, at just under 21,000 per week.

In Australia, net fee growth accelerated to 16%. This was driven by private sector activity, which represented 65% of our net fees, up a strong 18%. Public sector net fees increased by 13%.

Growth in Australia was broad-based across all regions and specialisms. Our largest regions of New South Wales and Victoria, which together accounted for 57% of Australia net fees, were up 11% and 22% respectively. Queensland delivered an excellent performance, with net fees up 21%. Elsewhere, South Australia and Western Australia both grew strongly, up 19% and 14% respectively. Net fees in ACT, which has higher public sector exposure, increased by 8%.

At the specialism level, Construction & Property, our largest specialism in Australia, delivered strong 16% growth. IT grew by 15%, Accountancy & Finance was up 9% and HR increased by an excellent 25%. New Zealand (6% of ANZ net fees) was down 9% after a tough second half of the year.

During the year we made significant expansions to four offices, and consultant headcount in the division increased by 10% year-on-year. Australia increased by 12%, while New Zealand decreased by 10%.

Germany (26%(5) net fees, 35%(5) operating profits)

Strong net fee growth, with significant investment in offices, systems and headcount

In Germany, our largest market, net fees grew strongly by 16% to £276.0 million, with operating profit up by 4% to £86.0 million. Sterling weakness versus the Euro led to a year-on-year increase in net fees of £7.2 million and operating profits of £2.5 million. Trading in the year was impacted by the loss of three working days versus prior year. We estimate this had a c.1% negative impact on net fees and a c.3% negative impact on operating profit. Therefore, adjusted for working days, underlying net fee growth was c.17%(3) and operating profit grew by c.7%(3).

Our Temp and Contracting business, which represented 85% of Germany fees, delivered strong growth of 14%. Within this, our largest business of Contracting was up 11%, while Temp growth was excellent at 22%, despite the negative working day impact. Our Perm business, which represented 15% of Germany fees, also delivered excellent growth of 34%.

IT, our largest specialism accounting for 41% of Germany net fees, grew by 13%. Our next largest area of Engineering also increased by 13%. We saw excellent growth in our newer specialisms, which now make up c.30% of Germany net fees, particularly Accountancy & Finance, up 42%, Sales & Marketing, 32%, and Legal, which grew by 74%.

As we set out at our 2017 Investor Day, there are significant long-term structural growth opportunities in Germany, on which we are determined to capitalise. In FY18 we invested in people, offices and systems. Consultant headcount was up 13% year-on-year to 1,700, in line with our five-year plan. To further support our growth, we opened three new offices (Essen, Walldorf and Augsburg) and completed five significant expansions (Mannheim, Stuttgart, Munich, Frankfurt and Cologne). We also upgraded our IT operational and back office systems.

These investments, coupled with three fewer working days in FY18, meant our conversion rate(2) declined 380bps to 31.2% (2017: 35.0%).

United Kingdom & Ireland (24%(5) net fees, 19%(5) operating profits)

Profit up 13% on good cost control. Macro conditions remain uncertain, but stable

In the United Kingdom & Ireland net fees increased 2% to £258.2 million, with operating profit up 13% to £47.0 million, representing a conversion rate(2) of 18.2% (2017: 16.4%). Although good cost control across the business was a driver of profit leverage, our performance also benefited from the conclusion of depreciation on major legacy IT investment programmes. The annual benefit to the division was £4.6 million in FY18.

Overall, the UK market remained uncertain but stable overall. Temp, which represented 56% of division net fees, grew by 3%, with our Perm business up 1%. Public sector markets remained tough and net fees declined 2%, although the rate of decline improved in H2 FY18, in part due to easier comparatives following the negative impact of IR35 changes in the public sector, implemented in April 2017. Our larger Private sector business, which represented 75% of net fees, grew by 3%.

All regions traded broadly in line with the overall UK business, with the exception of the South West & Wales, up 8%, Northern Ireland up 7%, East down 7% and the Midlands, down 6%. Our largest region of London, c.32% of UK&I net fees, grew by 3%. Ireland delivered strong net fee growth of 16%.

At the specialism level, Accountancy & Finance, our largest UK&I business, was flat, while Construction & Property, Office Support and IT were up by 3%, 7% and 1% respectively. Net fees in Education decreased by 10%, as the sector continued to be negatively impacted by declining public sector spending.

Consultant headcount in the year fell by 2% to 1,917, all by natural attrition, as we maintained focus on driving consultant productivity.

Rest of World (31%(5) net fees, 17%(5) operating profits)

Strong net fee growth with excellent profit leverage

Our Rest of World division, which comprises 28 countries, delivered strong net fee growth of 17% to £339.2 million. Operating profit grew by an excellent 51% to £41.3 million, with conversion rate(2) improving by 300bps to 12.2% (2017: 9.2%). Growth was broad-based, with 21 markets delivering all-time record net fees. Perm net fees, which represented 68% of RoW, were up by an excellent 21%, while Temp net fees rose 10%.

Sterling strength against the US Dollar, and some Asian currencies, was partially offset by weakness against the Euro, on a year-on-year basis. This resulted in a decrease in net fees of £1.5 million. As the majority of our profits are in Europe, we saw a modest increase in operating profit from currency of £0.6 million.

Europe ex-Germany delivered strong, broad-based net fee growth of 15% and excellent profit growth of 32%. 11 of our 17 countries grew by more than 15%, and 12 countries generated record net fees in the year. This included France, our largest RoW market, which increased net fees by 14%, representing a fourth consecutive year of double-digit net fee growth, led by strong growth in our largest French specialisms of Accountancy & Finance and Construction & Property, up 16% and 18% respectively. Banking also delivered excellent growth, up 45%. Belgium, our second largest business in the sub-region, delivered strong growth of 18%, as did Spain up 15%.

The Americas grew net fees by an excellent 21%, including four of our six countries with all-time records. We continued to invest significantly in the region, particularly in Canada and the USA, where headcount rose by 23% and 21% respectively. Net fees in the USA grew by 28%, with an acceleration in H2, and Canada grew by 16%. In Latin America, Brazil delivered strong net fee growth of 16%, although Mexico was tougher and declined by 2%. In absolute terms, operating profit in the Americas rose £2.5 million, a strong result given our investments.

Asia delivered an excellent performance, with net fees up 23% and operating profit 72%. Five of our six businesses in the region delivered record net fee performances. Within this, Hong Kong, our third largest market, delivered the highest growth with net fees up 57%. Japan and China, our largest and second largest markets, grew by 13% and 29% respectively. Japan, Hong Kong and China were the largest absolute profit growth contributors.

During the year we opened four new offices in RoW, and significantly expanded 10 others. Consultant headcount in the division was up by 13% year-on-year to 2,847. Within this, headcount in Europe ex-Germany was up 11%, Asia up 17%, and in the Americas up 15%.

Current trading

Strong conditions in the vast majority of our International markets. UK remains uncertain, but stable

We continue to see strong overall net fee growth across our International businesses. We will therefore continue to invest in a targeted way to capitalise on these opportunities. Conditions in the UK are stable overall.

Movements in the rates of exchange of the Group's key currencies, notably the Australian Dollar and the Euro, remain a material sensitivity to our reported financial performance. If we re-translate the Group's full-year operating profit of £243.4 million at current exchange rates, the actual reported result would increase by c.£3 million to c.£246 million.

We expect Group headcount growth in Q1 FY19 to be up c.3-5% sequentially, including the impact of our normal seasonal graduate intake. This will be primarily driven by our International businesses, particularly North America, Asia and Europe, including Germany and France.

Importantly, moving into FY19, we increasingly overlap tough growth comparators from the prior year, especially in Australia and Europe.

Australia & New Zealand

We continue to see good activity levels in Australia across all states and most specialisms, although we start to overlap increasingly tough growth comparatives in Q1 FY19.

Germany

In Germany, growth remains strong overall, despite tough comparators.

United Kingdom & Ireland

In the UK conditions remain uncertain but stable.

RoW

Conditions remain strong across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Summary Income Statement

(1) Net Fees comprise turnover less remuneration of temporary workers and other recruitment agencies.

(2) Conversion Rate is the conversion of net fees into operating profit.

(3) The underlying Temp gross margin is calculated as Temp net fees divided by Temp gross revenue and relates solely to Temp placements in which Hays generates net fees and specifically excludes transactions in which Hays acts as agent on behalf of workers supplied by third party agencies and arrangements where the Company provides major payrolling services.

Turnover for the year to 30 June 2018 was up 13% on both an actual and like-for-like basis. Operating costs were 12% higher than prior year, primarily due to 11% growth in average Group headcount and a rise in commission payments in line with the increase in net fees. Given our investment in new offices and expansions, Group property costs increased by c.£4 million, with a further c.£6 million expected in FY19.

Operating profit increased by 15%, again on both an actual and like-for-like basis. Exchange rate movements reduced net fees by £0.1 million, but increased operating profit by £1.0 million.

The Group's conversion rate(2) improved by 50bps to 22.7% (2017: 22.2%), with our RoW division in particular driving positive operational leverage.

Consultant headcount at the end of June 2018 was 7,464, up 8% year-on-year and flat versus December 2017, as we invested significantly in the first half of the year to ensure we capitalised on stronger markets and clear structural growth opportunities. In our International business we increased consultant headcount by 12% year-on-year, as we invested to capitalise on supportive markets, including year-on-year increases of 13% in Germany, 12% in Australia and 21% in the USA. In our UK&I business, consultant headcount fell by 2% year-on-year as we focused on driving consultant productivity.

Net finance charge

The net finance charge for the year was £4.9 million (2017: £6.9 million). The average interest rate on gross debt during the period was 2.0% (2017: 2.2%), generating net bank interest payable including amortisation of arrangement fees of £1.6 million (2017: £2.1 million). The net interest charge on defined benefit pension scheme obligations was £2.1 million (2017: £2.4 million). The Pension Protection Fund levy was £0.3 million (2017: £0.5 million) and the interest unwind on the deferred acquisition liability related to the Veredus transaction was £0.6 million (2017: £1.1 million). We expect the net finance charge for the year ending 30 June 2019 to be around £3 million.

Taxation

Taxation for the year was £72.7 million (2017: £65.5 million), representing an effective tax rate of 30.5% (2017: 32.0%). The effective tax rate reflects the Group's geographical mix of profits, with the decrease year-on-year primarily due to increased profit in lower tax jurisdictions, and a reduction in UK tax rate. The Group's effective tax rate for the year to June 2019 will be driven by the mix of profits generated during the year. We currently expect the rate to be broadly unchanged at 30.5%.

Earnings per share

Basic earnings per share increased by 18% to 11.44 pence (2017: 9.66 pence), reflecting the Group's higher operating profit, lower net finance charge and lower effective tax rate.

Cash flow and balance sheet

Strong underlying cash performance with 100% conversion of operating profit into operating cash flow (2017: 103%). This was a result of good working capital management throughout the year, particularly considering the strong growth in our International Temp and Contracting businesses, which are relatively working capital intensive. Trade debtor days were unchanged at 39 days (2017: 39 days).

Net capital expenditure was £25.0 million (2017: £21.4 million), with the increase primarily due to investments in IT front and back office operational systems, cyber security and property. We expect capital expenditure to be c.£30 million for the year to June 2019.

Dividends paid in the year totalled £109.7 million and pension deficit contributions were £15.3 million. Net interest paid was £2.0 million and the cash tax payment was £65.7 million.

Having eliminated net debt in 2016 and paid a £61.6 million special dividend during the year, we ended June 2018 with a net cash position of £122.9 million.

Retirement benefits

The Group's pension position under IAS19 at 30 June 2018 has resulted in a surplus of £75.9 million, compared to a deficit of £0.2 million at 30 June 2017. The surplus was primarily due to favourable changes in both demographics and financial assumptions (an increase in the discount rate and a decrease in the inflation rate), together with an increase in asset values.

In respect of IFRIC 14, the Schemes Definitive Deed and Rules is considered to provide Hays with an unconditional right to a refund of surplus assets and therefore the recognition of a net defined benefit scheme asset is not restricted. Agreements to make funding contributions do not give rise to any additional liabilities in respect of the scheme.

During the year the Company contributed £15.3 million of cash to the defined benefit scheme (2017: £14.8 million), in line with the agreed deficit recovery plan. The 2015 triennial valuation quantified the actuarial deficit at c.£95 million and the recovery plan comprises an annual payment of £14.0 million from July 2015, with a fixed 3% uplift per year, over a period of just under 10 years. The scheme was closed to new entrants in 2001 and to future accrual in June 2012. The formal actuarial valuation as at 30 June 2018 is currently being performed by the actuary and will be completed during FY19.

On 6 August 2018, Hays Pension Trustee Limited, in agreement with Hays plc, entered into a bulk purchase annuity policy (buy-in) contract with Canada Life Limited for a premium of £270.6 million in respect of insuring all future payments to the existing pensioners of the Hays defined benefit scheme as at 31 December 2017. The pension buy-in transaction was funded through the existing investment assets held by the Trustee on behalf of the pension scheme.

This material balance sheet de-risking exercise is in line with Hays' long-term strategy to reduce future volatility of the Group's defined benefit schemes, and their financial impact on the Group.

Capital structure and dividend

The Board's priorities for our free cash flow are to fund the Group's investment and development, maintain a strong balance sheet and deliver a sustainable core dividend at a level which is both affordable and appropriate.

Our strategy is to maintain dividend cover at the top end of 2.0x to 3.0x full-year earnings, and to match increases in core dividend with full-year earnings growth. Assuming a positive economic outlook, it remains our intention that any excess free cash flow generated over and above £50 million, which is not needed for the priorities outlined above, will then be distributed to shareholders via special dividends to supplement the core dividend at year-end.

With reference to the above, and taking into account the good financial performance of the Group this year, the Board proposes to increase the final core dividend by 22% to 2.75p per share resulting in an increase to the full year dividend to 3.81p per share, up 18% on prior year. As such, the full-year dividend will be covered 3.0x by earnings. Additionally, in line with the above policy on uses of excess cash, the Board recommends the payment of a special dividend of £72.9 million, equivalent to 5.00p per share, up 18% on prior year.

The final dividend and the special dividend will be paid, subject to shareholder approval, on 16 November 2018 to shareholders on the register on 5 October 2018.

Treasury management

The Group's operations are financed by retained earnings and bank borrowings. The Group has in place a £210 million revolving credit facility, maturing in April 2020, which provides considerable headroom versus current and future Group funding requirements. The covenants within the facility require the Group's interest cover ratio to be at least 4:1 (ratio as at June 2018: 123:1) and its leverage ratio (net debt to EBITDA) to be no greater than 2.5:1 (as at 30 June 2018 the Group held a net cash position). The interest rate of the facility is on a ratchet mechanism with a margin payable over LIBOR in the range 0.90% to 1.55%.

The Group's UK-based treasury function manages the Group's treasury risks in accordance with policies and procedures set by the Board, and is responsible for day-to-day cash management; the arrangement of external borrowing facilities; the investment of surplus funds; and the management of the Group's interest rate and foreign exchange risks. The Treasury function does not engage in speculative transactions and does not operate as a profit centre, and the Group does not hold or use derivative financial instruments for speculative purposes.

The Group's cash management policy is to minimise interest payments by closely managing Group cash balances and external borrowings. Euro-denominated cash positions are managed centrally using a cash concentration arrangement which provides visibility over participating country bank balances on a daily basis. Any Group surplus balance is used to repay any maturing loans under the Group's revolving credit facility or is invested in overnight money market funds. As the Group holds a Sterling denominated debt facility and generates significant foreign currency cash flows, the Board considers it appropriate in certain cases to use derivative financial instruments as part of its day-to-day cash management. The Group does not use derivatives to hedge balance sheet and income statement translation exposure.

The Group is exposed to interest rate risk on floating rate bank loans and overdrafts. It is the Group's policy to limit its exposure to interest rates by selectively hedging interest rate risk using derivative financial instruments. However there were no interest rate swaps held by the Group during the current or prior year.

Counterparty credit risk arises primarily from the investment of surplus funds. Risks are closely monitored using credit ratings assigned to financial institutions by international credit rating agencies. The Group restricts transactions to banks and money market funds that have an acceptable credit profile and limits its exposure to each institution accordingly.

Board changes

On 23 July 2018, we announced with great sadness the passing of our Chairman, Alan Thomson, after a rapid deterioration of a medical condition. Alan provided the Board with immense support and leadership for eight years, and is sadly missed.

Andrew Martin, Senior Independent Director, was appointed Non-executive Chairman of the Board on an interim basis on 23 July 2018, and confirmed in the role on a permanent basis with effect from 28 August 2018.

Victoria Jarman, Non‐Executive Director, will not be offering herself for re‐election at the Company's Annual General Meeting in November 2018 after serving on the Board for seven years and will step down from the Board at that time. It is proposed that following the Company's 2018 AGM Peter Williams will succeed Victoria as Chair of the Company's Audit Committee.

Principal risks facing the business

Hays plc operates an embedded risk management framework, which is monitored and reviewed by the Board. There are a number of potential risks and uncertainties that could have a material impact on the Group's financial performance and position. These include risks relating to the cyclical nature of our business, business model, talent recruitment and retention, compliance, reliance on technology, cyber security, data protection and contracts. These risks and our mitigating actions remain as set out in the 2017 Annual Report.

Cautionary statement

This Preliminary Results statement (the "Report") has been prepared in accordance with the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules of the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is not audited. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is or will be made in relation to the accuracy, fairness or completeness of the information or opinions contained in this Report. Statements in this Report reflect the knowledge and information available at the time of its preparation. Certain statements included or incorporated by reference within this Report may constitute "forward-looking statements" in respect of the Group's operations, performance, prospects and/or financial condition. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions and actual results or events may differ materially from those expressed or implied by those statements. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that any particular expectation will be met and reliance shall not be placed on any forward-looking statement. Additionally, forward-looking statements regarding past trends or activities shall not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. The information contained in this Report is subject to change without notice and no responsibility or obligation is accepted to update or revise any forward-looking statement resulting from new information, future events or otherwise. Nothing in this Report shall be construed as a profit forecast. This Report does not constitute or form part of any offer or invitation to sell, or any solicitation of any offer to purchase or subscribe for any shares in the Company, nor shall it or any part of it or the fact of its distribution form the basis of, or be relied on in connection with, any contract or commitment or investment decisions relating thereto, nor does it constitute a recommendation regarding the shares of the Company or any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity under section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Past performance cannot be relied upon as a guide to future performance. Liability arising from anything in this Report shall be governed by English Law, and neither the Company nor any of its affiliates, advisors or representatives shall have any liability whatsoever (in negligence or otherwise) for any loss howsoever arising from any use of this Report or its contents or otherwise arising in connection with this Report. Nothing in this Report shall exclude any liability under applicable laws that cannot be excluded in accordance with such laws.

This announcement contains inside information.

LEI code: 213800QC8AWD4BO8TH08