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(Sharecast News) - RWS Holdings shares were sliding on Tuesday, after it said it expected to report full-year adjusted pre-tax profit of about £60m, in line with guidance, after a significant improvement in profitability in the second half of its financial year as efficiency measures took effect.
The AIM-traded content and language solutions company said trading for the year to 30 September showed a sharp turnaround from the first half, when adjusted profit before tax was £18m.
Full-year revenue on an organic constant-currency basis was broadly flat compared with the prior year, though reported revenue was expected to fall around 4% to £690m from £718.2m.
The group said growth in its language services division, led by strong performance in its AI business TrainAI, offset weakness in its regulated industries unit, where revenue declined due to reduced activity in linguistic validation.
Its language and content technology and IP services divisions were broadly unchanged on a constant-currency basis.
RWS said it ended the year with net debt of around £26m, similar to the £27m reported in March.
The firm said it successfully refinanced and expanded its revolving credit facility in early October, increasing it from $220m to $285m and extending the maturity to 2029 on "market-leading terms," providing additional flexibility for growth.
"We expect to deliver adjusted PBT for FY25 within our guidance range, driven by our sharp focus on efficiency which has led to improved performance in the second half," said chief executive Ben Faes.
"The pace of change in our industry, fuelled by the global content explosion and rapid technology evolution, demands that RWS adapts quickly to succeed.
"We are acting decisively."
He added that the company had launched a new operating model on 1 October, simplifying its structure into three business segments - 'generate, transform and protect' - and integrating its product and technology teams to strengthen collaboration.
"We successfully delivered an efficiency plan that supported better profit performance in the second half and establishes the foundation for a leaner, more efficient future," Faes said.
RWS also confirmed that Stephen Lamb had been appointed chief financial officer and is expected to join the group in the first quarter of 2026.
The company said it planned to introduce new medium-term financial guidance and performance targets when it publishes its full-year results on 11 December.
At 1349 GMT, shares in RWS Holdings were down 16.05% at 79p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
