Robert Walters Regulatory News (RWA)

ROBERT WALTERS PLC

Results for the year ended 31 December 2012

PERFORMANCE IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

·; Revenue of £567.8m (2011: £528.1m).

·; Gross profit (net fee income) of £188.4m (2011: £183.4m).

·; Operating profit of £8.5m (2011: £15.6m).

·; Profit before taxation of £7.7m (2011: £15.1m).

·; Basic earnings per share of 6.8p (2011: 14.1p).

·; Final dividend maintained at 3.68p per share (2011: 3.68p) giving a total dividend for the year of 5.15p (2011: 5.15p).

·; Balance sheet remains strong with net cash of £11.5m as at 31 December 2012 (31 December 2011: £17.1m).

OPERATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

·; Profitability was impacted by a decline in permanent global financial services recruitment.

o Decisive action has been taken reducing headcount across this sector by 18%.

·; Successfully grew net fee income by diversifying into new disciplines and territories providing a platform for profitable growth, with headcount increases of:

o Sales and marketing: 29%.

o Engineering and oil and gas: 31%.

o HR and supply chain and procurement: 23%.

·; New offices opened in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Milton Keynes and Parramatta. Two new offices opened early 2013 - Ghent and Dubai. The Group now has 53 offices in 24 countries.

·; Good balance of permanent (69%) and contract (31%) recruitment net fee income (2011: 69%:31%).

·; Group headcount increased to 2,233 as at 31 December 2012 (31 December 2011: 2,047) largely due to Resource Solutions, our recruitment outsourcing business, winning several new contracts during the year and expanding into Asia.

Robert Walters, Chief Executive, commented:

 "2012 has been a year of transition. We successfully increased our net fee income across all regions and delivered results in line with expectations whilsttaking considerable strides to diversify away from financial services. This is evident by the fact that 85% of the Group's recruitment net fee income is now generated outside of this sector (2011: 78%). The Group has successfully responded to market conditions, supported by strong management, a healthy balance sheet and a well regarded international brand.

"We are confident that the significant changes we have made to the structure of our business will deliver a platform for enhanced future profitability. In addition, whilst some geographic areas continue to face economic uncertainty we believe it is important to maintain our presence across our markets in order to benefit from operational gearing when confidence returns."

The Group will publish an Interim Management Statement for the first quarter ended 31 March 2013 on 9 April 2013.

ENQUIRIES:

Robert Walters plc

Results for the year ended 31 December 2012

Chairman's statement

I am pleased that we successfully delivered results in line with expectations. Whilst profitability has been impacted by the decline in financial services we have taken decisive action to re-align the business; cutting relevant costs, diversifying into new disciplines and investing in Resource Solutions, our profitable recruitment outsourcing business. 85% of the Group's recruitment net fee income is now generated from outside of financial services (2011: 78%).

Revenue was £567.8m (2011: £528.1m) and gross profit (net fee income) increased by 3% to £188.4m (2011: £183.4m). Operating profit was £8.5m (2011: £15.6m) and profit before taxation was £7.7m (2011: £15.1m). The Group has maintained a strong balance sheet with a net cash position of £11.5m as at 31 December 2012 (31 December 2011: £17.1m).

In line with our long-term growth strategy, we continued to diversify our recruitment discipline coverage and opened four new offices during the year (San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, Milton Keynes, Parramatta) which strengthened our position in existing markets. In the past two months, we have opened two new offices, in Ghent and Dubai, bringing the Group's global footprint to 53 offices in 24 countries. In addition, the Group has invested £1.0m to establish a Resource Solutions presence in Asia.

The Board will be recommending maintaining the final dividend at 3.68p per share (2011: 3.68p) which combined with the interim dividend of 1.47p per share will result in a total dividend of 5.15p per share (2011: 5.15p).

During the year, no shares were purchased through the Group's long-term share buy-back programme, however the Board was authorised to repurchase up to 10% of the Group's issued share capital and will be seeking approval for the renewal of this authority at the Annual General Meeting on 24 May 2013.

I am delighted to have joined such a strong, international business as Chairman. On behalf of the Board, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Philip Aiken and Russell Tenzer who both retired from the Board earlier this year, for their many years of service and counsel as Non-executive Directors.

In conclusion, I would like to thank all our staff across the world for their hard work this year. The business has successfully responded to market conditions, supported by strong management, a healthy balance sheet and a well regarded international brand.

Leslie Van de Walle

Chairman

25 February 2013

Chief Executive's statement

The Group is more geographically, discipline and sector diverse than ever before. We now have in place a strong blend of permanent, contract and interim recruitment income streams, a broad breadth of recruitment disciplines and an exceptionally strong commerce sector client base. Whilst we still have a strong financial services offering, we recognise that markets and levels of demand have changed and we have therefore responded accordingly. In Resource Solutions, we also have a market-leading and rapidly growing recruitment process outsourcing business.

Group headcount increased to 2,233 as at 31 December 2012 (31 December 2011: 2,047) largely due to our Resource Solutions business winning several new contracts during the year and expanding into Asia.

Review of Operations

Asia Pacific (50% of net income)

Revenue was £280.6m (2011: £246.6m) and net fee income increased to £93.4m (2011: £92.7m), producing an operating profit of £7.2m (£6.9m in constant currency) (2011: £12.3m).

Australia, the region's largest business, was impacted by the downturn in financial services and the ripple effect of the slowdown in the resources sector, particularly during the second half of the year. To take advantage of growth, particularly from SMEs, we have opened a second office in the suburbs of Sydney in Parramatta (following last year's opening in Chatswood) and the Group now has seven offices across Australia.

Asia has been impacted by the slowdown in the banking sector, although we have partially offset this by growing commerce as demonstrated by strong performances from our operations in Malaysia and Thailand. In China, we have completed the purchase of the remaining 30% minority interest and restructured the management team.

In January 2012, we established our Resource Solutions business in Asia, supported by a £1.0m investment, and I am pleased to say that we have already secured a number of client wins.

UK (26% of net fee income)

Revenue was £193.2m (2011: £189.0m) and net fee income increased to £49.7m (2011: £47.0m), producing an operating profit of £0.4m (2011: £0.5m).

Financial services recruitment activity remained weak whilst net fee income grew strongly across the UK in other disciplines. We opened a new office in Milton Keynes to further strengthen our regional office footprint.

Resource Solutions performed strongly winning new clients and renewing existing contracts.

Europe (21% of net fee income)

Revenue was £87.8m (2011: £87.4m) and net fee income was £39.6m (2011: £39.1m), producing an operating profit of £1.2m (£1.4m in constant currency) (2011: £2.8m).

Trading conditions deteriorated during the second half of the year although France, our largest business, produced a robust performance. Germany continued to deliver strong net fee income growth throughout the year however in the Netherlands, conditions remained difficult and net fee income declined year-on-year. In Spain, market conditions continue to be extremely tough while our business in Ireland increased profitability.

Americas and South Africa (3% of net fee income)

Revenue was £6.1m (2011: £5.1m), net fee income increased by 24% to £5.7m (2011: £4.6m), producing an operating loss of £0.4m (operating loss of £0.5m in constant currency) (2011: £nil).

2012 was a year of significant investment across the Americas and South Africa. South Africa delivered a positive result with net fee income growing strongly. We believe our business is a market leader and well positioned to continue to build market share.

In New York, banking recruitment remained tough however our recent move into sales and marketing and legal recruitment shows promise. San Francisco has performed well, benefiting from its focus on the technology and digital media industries. In Brazil, we opened a new office in Rio de Janeiro early in the year, however the Brazilian economy has since slowed, making market conditions more difficult.

Outlook

Although the global economy is still facing a number of difficulties, we are confident that the significant changes we have made to the structure of our business will deliver a platform for enhanced future profitability. In line with our growth strategy, we will continue to invest selectively in areas which will enable us to build our market share, keeping a tight control on costs and taking every opportunity to make the business as efficient as possible.

Robert Walters

Chief Executive

25 February 2013

Consolidated Income Statement

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

The amounts above relate to continuing operations.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

Consolidated Balance Sheet

AS AT 31 DECEMBER 2012

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

Statement of Accounting Policies

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2012

Robert Walters plc is a Company incorporated in the United Kingdom under the Companies Act.

The financial report for the year ended 31 December 2012 has been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention and with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), including International Accounting Standards and Interpretations as adopted for use by the European Union, though this announcement does not itself contain sufficient information to comply with IFRSs.

The Group had net cash of £11.5m at 31 December 2012. Despite the volatile and uncertain global economic conditions, the Group remains confident of its long-term growth prospects. The Group has a strong balance sheet and considerable financial resources, together with a diverse range of clients and suppliers across different geographic locations and sectors. As a consequence, the Directors believe that the Group is well placed to manage its business risks successfully.  After making enquiries, the Directors have formed a judgement, at the time of approving the accounts, that there is a reasonable expectation that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, the Directors continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the accounts.

The financial information in this announcement, which was approved by the Board of Directors on 25 February 2013, does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2012 but is derived from these accounts. Statutory accounts for 2011 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies and those for 2012 will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on these accounts; their reports were unqualified, did not draw attention to any matters by way of emphasis without qualifying their report and did not contain statements under Section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The Annual General Meeting of Robert Walters plc will be held on 24 May 2013 at 11 Slingsby Place, St Martin's Courtyard, London WC2E 9AB.

* For the purposes of segmental information, unallocated corporate assets and liabilities include cash, bank loans and corporate deferred tax balances.

The analysis of revenue by destination is not materially different to the analysis by origin and the analysis of finance income and costs are not significant.

The Group is divided into geographical areas for management purposes, and it is on this basis that the segmental information has been prepared.

*For the purposes of segmental information, unallocated corporate assets and liabilities include cash, bank loans and corporate deferred tax balances.

The carrying value of goodwill relates to the acquisition of Talent Spotter in China (£1,032,000), the historic acquisition of the Dunhill Group in Australia (£6,847,000) and the acqusition of MRL Consulting in Dubai (£40,000) in 2012. The historical acquisition cost of Talent Spotter was £768,000, with the movement to the current carrying value a result of foreign currency translation differences. Goodwill is tested annually for impairment, or more frequently if there are indications that goodwill might be impaired. The recoverable amount of the goodwill is based on value in use over the next five years, calculated by preparing cash flow forecasts derived from the most recent financial budgets and an assumed growth rate of 3% for years two to five, which does not exceed the long-term average potential growth rate of the respective operations. The forecast for revenue and costs as approved by the Board reflect the latest industry forecasts and management expectations based on past experience. The value of the cash flows is then discounted at a post-tax rate of 7.3% (pre-tax rate of 11.5%), based on the Group's estimated weighted average cost of capital and risk adjusted depending on the location of goodwill.

Included within prepayments and accrued income is a provision against the cancellation of placements where a candidate may reverse their acceptance prior to the start date. The value of this provision as of 31 December 2012 is £1,055,000 (31 December 2011: £1,024,000). The movement in the provision during the year is a charge to administrative expenses in the income statement of £31,000 (2011: £123,000).

There is no material difference between the fair value and the carrying value of the Group's trade and other payables.

In November 2012, the Group extended its three-year committed financing facility, which was increased to £30.0m until November 2015. At 31 December 2012, £14.1m was drawn down under this facility.

In March 2008, the Group borrowed Renminbi 20m (£2.0m) at a rate of 110% of the People's Bank of China base rate to finance the acquisition of Talent Spotter and provide working capital. Of the Renminbi 20m (£2.0m), Renminbi 10m (£1.0m) was a long-term loan and repayable over four years, with the final payment made in March 2012. The remaining Renminbi 10m (£1.0m) is a short-term facility, of which Renminbi 5m (£0.5m) remains outstanding as at 31 December 2012. The loan is secured against cash deposits in Hong Kong.

The Directors estimate that the fair value of all borrowings is not materially different from the amounts stated in the Consolidated Balance Sheet of £14,550,000 (2010: £11,904,000).

Net cash is defined as cash and cash equivalents less bank loans.