Results for the year ended 31 December 2018

​Empresaria Group plc

("Empresaria" or the "Group")

Results for the year ended 31 December 2018

Record adjusted profit before tax with a 52% increase in final dividend

Empresaria, the international specialist staffing group, is pleased to report its final results, showing continued delivery on its growth strategy with record adjusted profit before tax and a 52% increase in its dividend.

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• Net fee income of £72.3m up 4%, 6% in constant currency

• Conversion ratio increased to 17.0% (2017: 16.7%

• Adjusted diluted earnings per share of 12.1p, down 3% due to profit mix

• Proposed final dividend increased by 52% to 2.0p (2017: 1.32p

• Adjusted net debt reduced to £17.1m (2017: £19.5m)
  

Operational highlights

• Continued to build scale in key target sectors and geographies

• Investment in Peru finalised in July 2018, to strengthen presence in high potential Latin American market

• Two new offices opened in Asia Pacific region in January 2019

• Invested in building strength and depth in the central team, including appointment of Chief Operating Officer in November 2018

• More focused strategy with central support bolstered in areas of technology, training, and marketing to improve productivity of brands

• Strong profit growth from IMS (India), Alternattiva (Chile), LMA (UK), ConSol Partners (UK & USA) and Rishworth (New Zealand)

• Strong platform in place for next phase of growth

* adjusted to exclude amortisation of intangible assets identified in business combinations, exceptional items, gain or loss on disposal of businesses, fair value charges on acquisition of non-controlling shares and, in the case of earnings, any related tax.

Chief Executive Officer Spencer Wreford said:

"We are pleased to be reporting a fourth consecutive year of record adjusted profit before tax. We have also reduced the net debt in the Group which, combined with the strength of our balance sheet and the Board's confidence in the Group's prospects, has allowed us to increase our annual dividend by 52%.

In line with our strategy we continue to invest in the Group, with a new brand in Peru joining in July 2018, as we strengthen our presence in the high potential Latin American market. We have also invested in our central team, to provide more support to the growth plans of our brands, with a new Chief Operating Officer, Rhona Driggs, and Group Finance Director, Tim Anderson, joining the board, as well as new staff with responsibilities for technology, training and marketing. Rhona brings with her 28 years of staffing industry experience, while Tim brings significant listed company finance experience. With a strong platform in place, these investments will help us to be more focused in our approach and work more closely with our brands to fully deliver the benefits of being in a Group and to deliver the next phase of growth.

Our focus in 2019 is to deliver organic growth and strengthen our core brands. With the quality of the brands in our Group and a more focused strategy, we see good opportunities to generate profitable growth, but we remain mindful of the increasing economic uncertainty arising from political risks."

Enquiries:

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Notes for editors:

• Empresaria Group plc is an international specialist staffing group with 20 brands operating in 21 countries across the globe being the UK, Germany, Japan, India, UAE, Indonesia, Chile, Australia, Thailand, Singapore, Finland, USA, New Zealand, China, Malaysia, Vietnam, Austria, Hong Kong, Mexico, Philippines and Peru.

• Empresaria offers temporary/contract and permanent staffing solutions as well as Offshore Recruitment Services in seven key sectors: Technical & Industrial, Aviation services, IT & Design, Professional services, Healthcare, Executive search and Retail.

• Empresaria applies a multi-brand, management equity philosophy and business model, with group company management teams holding significant equity in their own business.

• Empresaria is listed on AIM under ticker EMR. For more information: empresaria.com