Adecco Group AG — Call Transcript 2026

Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Adecco Group Q1 2026 results. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Benita Barretto, Head of Investor Relations and External Communications. Please go ahead. Good morning. Thank you for joining the Adecco Group's conference call today. I'm Benita Barretto, the Group's Head of Investor Relations, and with me are the Adecco Group CEO, Denis Machuel, and CFO, Valentina Ficaio. Before we begin, please take note of the disclaimer on slide 2. Today's presentation will reference both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results and operating metrics. This conference call will include forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and, as always, present opportunities as well as risks and uncertainties. With that, I will now hand over to Denis. Thank you, Benita, and a warm welcome to all of you who've joined the call today. Let me begin with slide 3. I'm really pleased to present Q1 result that show a very strong start of the year. Organic revenue growth has continued to accelerate. In the first quarter, revenues was 5.3% year-on-year on an organic training days adjusted basis, a strong result. The group made further strong market share gains, outperforming key competitors by 365 basis points. We delivered a market-leading healthy 18.8% gross margin. The group, EBITDA, excluding one-offs, was 24% higher year-on-year on an organic constant currency basis. In turn, the EBITDA margin expanded 20 basis points year-on-year to a robust 2.6%. Leverage was reduced 0.2 times year-on-year, consistent with the ratio improvement delivered at the end of 2025. While the group's operating cash flow performance was solid, in line with normal seasonality and reflecting the business use of working capital during periods of rising revenue growth. Moreover, the group has continued to make swift progress with its AI agenda, from which we are capturing encouraging productivity and growth. Let's turn to slide four, which highlights how rigorous execution, including deploying AI tools and services, is supporting the group's strong growth momentum. The left-hand side shows flexible placement and outsourcing volume data for the Adecco business. Against a mixed market backdrop, the Adecco Group has seen volumes recovering for over 12 months. In Q1, volumes further improved sequentially, achieving solid growth year-on-year and moving consistently higher than levels achieved in the first quarter two years ago. Moving to the right side. Our Talent Supply Chain solution delivered healthy operational results this quarter. Looking at performance for our largest clients, the temp placement fill rates improved by 400 basis points year-on-year with a 25% faster time to submit and a 30% reduction in time to fill. As the chart shows, against a backdrop of 20% higher demand from our largest clients, we are able to increase field position 25% year-on-year in Q1. How did we achieve that? Well, actually, let's move to slide 5, where we highlight how AI is driving productivity and growth across the group. We continue to scale a more efficient, integrated AI-driven platform model across the group. We have consolidated more than 30 Salesforce instances into a single AI-enabled digital platform with 27,000 recruiters now operating on a common tech stack and all recruiters equipped with GenAI capabilities. Automated order processing is up more than 65% year-on-year, year-to-date across nine countries, with plans to drive pace and efficiencies further. The group's Agentic AI rollout has accelerated, with agents now added to Germany, Spain, and selected global recruitment centers. We will upgrade existing agents this year and deploy around five new agents. For example, we are currently piloting an onboarding agent in Spain, offering benefits such as instant automated candidate verification. We already see tangible operational benefits. More than 30,000 agent conversations are now held monthly, while over 110,000 candidate skills have been updated through agents, enriching our candidate database, which support better search and matching. To date, agents have delivered around 20% time savings for our recruiters. By the end of 2026, we expect 50% of Adecco revenues to be covered by Agentic AI. With these agents, we will be more efficient and more effective in delivery for our clients, and this in turn will help us grow faster. Let me now hand over to Valentina to deep dive on our Q1 results. Thank you, Denis. Good morning to all. Let's begin with the GBU developments and Adecco on slide 6, where we are pleased to report growth across all regions. Adecco grew revenues by 6.6%, further improved sequentially. In relative terms, Adecco captured 210 basis points of market share gain and all regions grew, underpinned by momentum in flexible placement, where revenues increased 6% and in outsourcing, which grew 16%. We believe both flex and outsourcing are benefiting from an uncertain geopolitical context as they are highly agile services. While permanent placement remains soft, declining 7% this quarter. Adecco's gross profit improved, with the margin mainly reflecting lower permanent placement volumes and the current client mix in flexible placement. EBITDA rose 6% with a margin of 3%, mainly reflecting current business mix, largely offset through higher volumes, firm pricing and G&A savings benefit. Productivity rose 2% and selling FTEs were stable compared to the prior year period. Let's now move to Adecco at the segment level on slide 7. In Adecco France, revenues returned to growth, rising 1% and ahead of market. Onsite activities grew double digits, and in sector terms, autos and manufacturing were strong while healthcare was soft. The EBITDA margin of 1.5% mainly reflects current business mix. Management is implementing a cost optimization plan which delivered EUR 4 million run rate savings at the end of Q1. In Adecco EMEA, excluding France, revenue growth was strong, up 7% and sequentially improved. Most territories delivered good performance and grew ahead of competitors. When we look at the larger markets, revenue rose 6% in Italy, supported by strong activity in logistics and solid demand in financial services, tech and autos. Revenues in Iberia were up 16%, led by autos, financial services, food and beverage and consumer goods. DACH revenues were stable, a good result given market headwinds. Growth was strong in aerospace and defense and autos, while logistics and public sector activity was soft. In the U.K. and Ireland, revenues were up 5%, despite a tough market supported by strong demand in financial services and the public sector. The segment's EBITDA margin of 3% mainly reflects current business mix, mitigated by higher volumes and G&A savings, and productivity was up 7%. Turning now to slide 8. Adecco Americas delivered 15% revenue growth. North America continued to successfully execute its improvement plan. Revenues remained very strong, growing 15% and above market trends. In sector terms, consumer goods, food and beverage and autos performed well. Latin American revenues remained strong, rising 15%, led by Colombia, Peru and Brazil. By sector logistics, financial services and retail were strong. The Americas EBITDA margin of 1.7% mainly reflects higher volumes and G&A savings benefit, partly mitigated by investment in capacity to fuel growth and productivity was stable. Turning to APAC, revenues continued to advance strongly, growing 8% with growth across all territories. Revenues rose 6% in Japan, 12% in Asia, 10% in India and 3% in Australia and New Zealand. By sector, growth was led by consulting, aerospace and defense and public sector services. FESCO delivered EUR 20 million of income in the quarter, stable year-on-year. APAC's EBITDA margin of 7.2% mainly reflect higher volumes and investment in capacity to drive future growth, and productivity rose 2%. Let's now move to slide 9 and Akkodis. Top line developments are stabilizing. Revenues were 1% lower, with consulting up 0.4%, supported by a strong acceleration in aerospace and defense, which was 22% higher. In EMEA, revenues were 3% lower. Looking at the key countries, revenues in France were 2% higher and ahead of market, with notable strength in aerospace and defense. However, Germany was 5% lower, with headwinds in autos partly offset by strong growth in aerospace and defense and manufacturing. North American revenues were up 5%, with tech staffing and consulting up 6% and 4% respectively. In APAC, revenues were 4% lower, weighed by Australia, where market conditions remain demanding. Japan was strong, with revenues up 5%. Reflecting mainly the turnaround in Germany, Akkodis' profitability is improving. EBITDA rose 23%, while the margin of 4.2% was 70 basis points higher, also reflecting good project margin developments and a strong utilization rate of 90%. Let's now move to slide 10 and LHH's good performance. LHH's revenues were down 1% this quarter. Revenues in career transition were up 5%. U.S. revenues were 4% higher, a strong result given a softer job cuts dynamic in this market. India, Spain, and Switzerland performed well, and the business pipeline remains healthy. In professional recruitment solutions, revenues were 6% lower, reflecting continued market headwinds in permanent placement. Recruitment solutions gross profit was 8% lower, with the U.S. also 8% lower. Productivity rose 11%, with billing FTEs down 13% due to further rightsizing efforts. In coaching and skilling, revenues rose 6%, led by Ezra, which grew revenues by 35%. LHH's EBITDA was up 50%. We were pleased to see the business deliver a double-digit EBITDA margin at 11%, reflecting positive business mix and strong cost mitigation. Let's now turn to slide 11 and the group's gross margin bridge. On a year-on-year basis, the group's 18.8% margin was driven by an unusually large FX headwind of 20 basis points, a 30 basis points impact from flexible placement, a 20 basis points impact from permanent placement, and a 10 basis points positive impact in outsourcing, consulting, and other services, mainly driven by Akkodis Germany. Overall, the result is healthy in the context of the current business mix, moving 40 basis points lower year-on-year on an organic basis. Let's now look at slide 12 and the group's EBITDA bridge. The EBITDA margin excluding one-offs was robust at 2.6%, up 20 basis points year-on-year and 40 basis points on a constant currency basis. The result was driven by a 20 basis points negative impact from FX, 10 basis points favorable impact from Akkodis Germany, and 30 basis points favorable development from higher gross profits excluding Akkodis Germany. Among key metrics, productivity is up 4% and G&A costs are at 3.2% of revenues, evidencing tight control over SG&A, which is stable year-on-year and 100 basis points lower as a percentage of revenues. Moving to slide 13 and the group's cash flow and financing structure. The last 12-month cash conversion ratio was strong at 94%. In Q1, we had an operating cash outflow of EUR 178 million, down EUR 34 million versus the prior year period. This cash result reflects good working capital management, working capital absorption for growth, and normal seasonality. The group's DSO remains best in class at 53.3 days. Including capital expenditure of EUR 22 million, the free cash outflow was EUR 200 million. Alongside strong cash performance, the group is strengthening its financial structures. The net debt to EBITDA ratio improved 0.2 times, consistent with year-end 2025 progress on deleveraging, affirming progress to meet our commitment to bring the net debt to EBITDA ratio to 1.5 times or below by the end of 2027, absent any major macroeconomic or geopolitical disruption. In April, the group successfully issued a EUR 450 million hybrid bond with an attractive coupon of 4.875%. The group has strong liquidity resources, including an undrawn EUR 750 million revolving credit facility and low interest expenses. It has fixed interest rates on 76% of its outstanding gross debts and no financial covenants on any of its outstanding debts. With regards to the dividend, 53% of shareholders elected for the scrip, resulting in 5.3 million new share issues issued at CHF 16.94 per share and CHF 79 million of cash distribution in Q2. We are pleased with the take-up of our scrip dividend and thank our shareholders for their continued partnership. Moving on to slide 14, where we provide our near-term outlook. The group has seen a continuation of the positive momentum in volumes to date this quarter. For Q2, the group expects gross margin to be marginally lower sequentially, reflecting normal seasonality. It expects SG&A expenses excluding one-offs to be marginally higher sequentially. We are rigorously executing the group's strategy and run and change priorities, focusing on market share gains while managing costs and capacity with discipline to continue driving profitable growth. With that, I'll hand back to Denis. Thank you, Valentina. Let's now turn to slide 15. Before I conclude, let me share an executive committee leadership change. Ranjit de Sousa has been appointed as President of LHH and member of the Group Executive Committee effective today. He will succeed Gaëlle de la Fosse, who has decided to leave the company to pursue opportunities outside the group following the handover period. I'd like to sincerely and warmly thank Gaëlle for her significant contribution over the past four years. Under her vision, LHH has been successfully repositioned into an end-to-end executive and professional talent solutions leader. We are pleased to welcome Ranjit back to the Adecco Group to lead LHH. He's a highly effective leader who will build on the strong momentum of LHH using his experience and track record to further drive innovation, leveraging human-centric AI, and ensuring clients and candidates benefit from the full power of the Adecco Group's offering. Moving to slide 16. Let me conclude with our key takeaways. We have made a very strong start to 2026. We've delivered strong revenue growth and market share gains in the first quarter, with AI deployment demonstrably driving competitive strength. The group's EBITA increased by 24%, a strong improvement that reflects disciplined strategic execution and rigorous cost management. Productivity was also up 4% year-on-year. The balance sheet is improved, and there is more to come. Deleveraging remains the clear priority for the group. With that, we'd like to thank you for your attention and open the lines for Q&A. We are ready for the first questions. At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from the line of Suhasini Varanasi with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my question. Just one for me, please. I think on SG&A, maybe there was a little bit of a surprise to the upside, on costs in 1st quarter, and you're continuing to invest going into the next quarter. Can you maybe help us understand the dynamics behind this development here? Which are the regions why you, where you're choosing to invest? What changed, I suppose, through the course of the quarter that made you want to invest a bit more? Thank you. I think Vale, who likes to control as much as I do, by the way, like to control the cost, will answer that question. Thank you, Suhasini, for the question. I think what is clearly the takeaway is the revenue growth that we've seen stepping into Q1 2026 was very strong. As always, we are very close to the behavior that each country shows, and we take deliberate choices to ensure that whenever we see growth, we capture it. Selectively, we have chosen to invest a bit more in some of these countries to ensure that we capture this growth. Which by the way, we've done successfully in Q1, and it was profitable growth, as you've seen how this improved our profit year-on-year. We see this momentum continuing. It is very important that we remind ourselves that, to make these deliberate choices is relevant also because we need to ensure that then we have the right capacity stepping into Q2, and more importantly, into H2, where volumes go up, trading days go up, and then the opportunities of growth become even more important. That's how we thought about it, and that's how you should think about us investing a bit more in S in these territories that are growing. I see. Got it. Thank you. Sorry. Please go ahead. Yeah. I just want to say, you know, we are also very focused on maintaining our G&A cost, you know, flat and at below 3.5% of revenue. We are laser focused on that. Your next question comes from the line of Rémi Grenu with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Good morning. A few questions on my side, if I may. The first one is related to the previous question on this G&A, maybe taking a little bit of a step back there. Then you were talking about AI implementation time, 20% time saved for recruiter, increase in productivity. I guess one could have thought that this would translate into a higher drop-through or lower necessity to invest in cost when the volume is coming back. I guess the question would be whether you think it's just a matter of time. It takes time for this initiative to yield financial results, and if so, when would you expect to see the benefits materializing on the PNL. That's the first question on AI and cost. The second one is on the current momentum. Looking at the data published in March and April from the different providers, it feels a little bit, and tell me if I'm wrong, that temp has continued to gradually improve, but perm has deteriorated a little bit once again and was weaker. Of course, different by countries, but are you seeing something which is consistent with that trend? If so, would you say it's consistent with what's happening in the Middle East, higher uncertainty, and clients moving toward a flex placement? The last question is on Akkodis. I think Germany, as you were saying, was probably a little bit weaker. Any additional favor you can give on that, whether you think it's a multi-quarter weakness we can expect? Is it the beginning of an inflection toward a little bit of a deterioration? Do you feel like at this point you need to, maybe adjust the size of the bench or take any significant actions? Thank you, Remi. I'm gonna start with AI, and then I think Valentina will compliment. You know, we're very optimistic about how we are scaling AI, but it's still in scaling mode, okay? What we see is productivity is coming in, okay? That's gonna be very promising in the future. It helps us gain market share. In terms of the cost, you know, we, particularly when we scale Agentic AI, we signed a contract with Salesforce that gives us unlimited access to agents for a fixed price, which means whatever volume we put on top, we don't have additional costs. That's I think it's a pretty good thing. It maybe in terms of the dynamic of the drop-through, you wanna say something, Valentina. I'm gonna go on the market improvement and the other questions. What I think is very important, building on what, on what Denis just said, is we're really driving the return on investments of these modest investments that we're doing in AI. That, by the way, within the business, the usage we keep within the selling cost to ensure that accountability is driven and within the results that the leaders are delivering. What I think is really important, Remi, is on a year-on-year basis, revenues were up 5.3%. Our SG&A ratio over revenues is down 100 basis points. That tells you that this revenue growth that we are generating with additional gross profit is dropping through. The fact that on a year-on-year basis, our EBITDA improves 25 24% organically is through profit generated. Cash was flat year-over-year. This is growth that is not just profitable, but driven by strong productivity, also thanks to AI, dropping 100% through with additional profit. This is important, you have to look at it also on a year-over-year perspective. Now on the trends. As we said, we have seen a positive trend on the volumes, on the flex volumes, you know, all through Q1, and it continues in Q2, which makes us, you know, very positive about the future. It's driven by probably the uncertainty economy, which is not that bad, and the uncertainty that favors more flexible placement than permanent placement. You're right, permanent placement. I don't think it's deteriorating. It's just the same trend that we've seen mostly linked to uncertainty where clients do not want to bet on or recruiting permanently. It's true across many geographies. However, if you think about 3 particular geographies where we have a pretty nice momentum. You know, in Adecco, you know, Spain is growing 8% in permanent recruitment, and you know how good the economy is in Spain. In APAC, we are, you know, we are growing 10% in permanent recruitment in Adecco. In LHH, we are growing 19% in Latam in permanent recruitment. We're growing 3% in Spain. The problem is the rest of the regions are probably more sensitive to macros and, yeah, it's true that at the moment it's really subdued. Let's be clear, we're still doing close to EUR 1 billion in permanent recruitment. It's still a nice, you know, business. It will remain quite dynamic. It will continue, albeit at lower levels. However, we're well positioned whenever the recovery comes, and we of course manage in capacity. Of course, macros today support flex, and we are seeing continuous momentum on flex volumes, and also outsourcing. You know, we mentioned 16% growth in outsourcing. Now Germany. Definitely, we have a two sides of the coin. We have still pressure on autos, okay? We were expecting a little bit more dynamic. There's still pressure, and it's mainly coming from the German OEMs, and, you know, it is what it is. However, on the other side, we have fantastic growth in our space and defense, 26% with all the large clients that we have. We've seen growth in energy, growth in manufacturing. I mean, there is momentum here. However, of course, given the size of autos in Germany, it puts pressure on the overall results. Our margin is up 70% 70, sorry, basis points year-on-year. We are, to your point, Remi, managing the bench. We are adjusting. We are continuing to do savings. We see the top line stabilizing. I would not say fully stable yet, but stabilizing. We are very actively, you know, saving costs. We've done two divestments, and we are managing the bench, very actively. You know, I think on the midterm, I have a positive outlook on Germany. At the moment, it's still a bit under pressure. Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. Your line is open. Yes, good morning. I've got three, please. First of all, could you give us a brief for the gross margin in Q2, and what is the degree of conservatism baked into this guidance, given it has been a few quarters in a row now where GM came in weaker than expected? Secondly, can you help us understand why gross margin would come down in Q2 while SG&A would go up? Lastly, a follow-up on one of the previous question. You are talking about profitable growth and the productivity gain from AI. If we look at the gross margin of the TEM business, it has been incrementally weaker over the past quarter. Does that mean that you are sharing most of the productivity gains with clients and driving this deflationary trend? Thank you. Thanks, Simon. I'll take your first and second question, and then I'll hand over. Yeah. Mm-hmm To Denis Machuel for the 3rd one. Looking at the outlook, first on gross margin. What we see and what you should model thinking about Q2 is marginally lower in the region of 20 basis points, considering that FX will continue to be a headwind, albeit smaller than what you've seen in Q1, more in the region of 10 basis points. You were asking why we have to think about this being lower. I think we also have to remember that Q2 in comparison to Q1, seasonally, we always see volumes in larger clients being a bit bigger. There's also a trading days that are actually lower. These are the main elements that I would model. Looking about looking at SG&A, G&A tightly under control, well below 3.5. We continue to capture pockets of efficiencies, but on there's there's continuation. You have to think about our guidance in light of the strong momentum on growth that we continue to see. We will continue to selectively invest in assets to ensure that we capture that growth. H2 will be up in terms of trading days, so we have to be prepared to capture that growth. Productivity will continue to be strong and up. You should also model for our SG&A ratio over sales on a year-on-year perspective to perform well and down on a year-on-year basis. With regards to the productivity gains from AI, what we're doing is, you know, AI helps us really reduce our cost to serve with the large clients. You know, large clients are very competitive. When you talk about, you know, the % gross margin, there's a lot that's coming from the mix because we are growing very, very nicely in our large clients. There's a bit of a difference with the growth on small and medium companies, which is a big focus now, for sure. Of course, and driving, you know, better cost to serve, to serve the large clients is fundamental. It's not that we are sharing productivity gains with clients. I mean, the environment with the large ones is always very competitive. We are more and more scaling AI to improve our cost to serve, improve our productivity, and that's gonna help us sustain, you know, our gross margin. The thing is more the mix than what happens on the client side. The spread, bill rate, pay rate is still positive, so it's a question of mix. I'm very positive with the way we are scaling, you know, on the front line with our clients. That delivers efficiency. That delivers value creation. We are able to go faster to deliver candidates to our clients. We have a better qualification. We, you know, this is very promising as we move. We will also deploy AI in the branches, in our network. It takes a bit more time than scaling, you know, AI in our global recruitment centers. We are currently piloting AI in what we call branch of the future and getting all the learnings that we have from the large accounts in the smaller ones. We'll keep you posted on that, but that's also promising. Thank you. Thank you, Remi. Your next Thank you, Simon. Sorry. Your next question comes from the line of Rory McKenzie with UBS. Your line is open. Morning all. It's Rory here. I just want to ask again about the gross margin, 'cause I think we're all still seeing it as a puzzle. If I look at the absolute organic growth in revenues and the absolute organic growth in gross profit that you report for the last four quarters, I calculate an incremental organic gross margin of 10%. That last 12 months is the period in which you have returned to growth, and so I guess, you know, why shouldn't we think that that 10% in gross margin is representative of the average margin that you're, you know, able to win in this environment? What's going on within that explains why I'm only measuring a 10% margin? Thanks, Rory. I'll try to unpack it a bit more for you. The reason why you see that difference is clearly coming from the mix. When I talk about mix, is on the one hand client mix, yes, because the further growth that has accelerated even more in Q1 comes from larger clients, but it's also country mix. You have seen that we have grown, in some cases even double digits, in countries that mainly based on the fact that it's lower salaries on average terms. That also skews our gross margin overall a little bit down. That helps us on the SG&A ratio, and that is why you see such a strong performance also of the SG&A ratio year-over-year going down. You have to look at those two in conjunction. If you look only at the gross profit in absolute terms growing, You see both of those impacts, client mix, but also the country mix. Yeah. I hope this helps. No, that does. No, actually, my second question. Again, you'll guess what I've been playing with this morning. If I look at the organic growth in SG&A, again, over that last four quarters, I think I get to a organic incremental conversion ratio of 101% for the last 12 months, which obviously is great, but again, in some ways. Yeah looks perhaps unsustainable at that level to drop everything through to profits. I see what you mean. is that. but there are more levers, right? There are more levers that we are starting to pull and will come through more strongly over the next quarters. Because when I think about Akkodis Germany, not the vast majority has come in. More will come. There's further improvement in North America. There is a clear further improvement coming from France. So you have to expect improvement coming not just from this, and so the relationship between gross profit growing and how do we deal with that, but the other areas so that we are working on to diversify but also to improve and turn around some of the units. Understood. That's helpful. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Will Kirkness with Bernstein. Your line is open. Thanks very much. I've got two, please. Firstly, you mentioned bill rates, and pay rate spread's still positive. I just wonder if you could talk about price versus volume, those components overall in the growth intent, and whether you're seeing wage inflation or conversations about wage inflation creeping back. Secondly, looking at a couple of regions, and I guess sort of linking in with Rory's question to some degree. In France, you've got growth coming through now but margin's down a bit. I guess you would expect that to sort of correct in the coming quarters, just interested in the outlook there. In Americas, appreciate margins are up year-on-year, but you're seeing very good growth there. There's been, you know, a number of years, I think, of self-help turnaround. Just wondering there why margin's still sub 2 and where you would expect those to move to over the coming quarters. Thank you. I think Valentina will take the first one, and I'll take your second part. Yeah. Thanks, Will. In terms of spread, you've heard already Denis mentioning that it continues to grow positively, in terms of bill to pay rate. You were mentioning the behavior on wage inflation. What we see consistently now is a very modest wage inflation, and this is applicable both to what we see based on our cost base, but also in the market. That's how you should model it moving forward. Very modest wage inflation. Spread continues to be positive. As far as the two regions you're mentioning, if France, we're pleased to be back to growth. We are at 1%. We are ahead of the market, which is good. We definitely, we have, and that's again, that's the mix that Valentina was talking about. We still have a better dynamic with large accounts than with small and medium enterprises, which of course, again, weighs on the profitability. We have a strong plan to do several things. First of all, to reactivate strongly how we go to market with small and medium enterprises. That's it's underway. We also want to scale up faster the, you know, the Talent Supply Chain model. That helps us reduce our cost to serve so that the profitability with the large accounts is improving. We also have an SG&A program to make sure that we delivered the cost 4 million of cost optimization. We believe there's still pockets of permanent placement opportunities in tech, in construction, in a few sectors. This is, I think this is going to be helping us in the quarters to come. Just a quick parenthesis. We're talking about Adecco, Akkodis is growing 2%. Our Space & Defense is growing 13%. Autos even growing 3% in Akkodis. We have, on that side, we have a very good momentum in France. U.S. or Americas or U.S., we're growing nicely, and it's the same thing. You know, we're growing 15%. We've improved the margin 60 basis points, as you said, we're still below 2%. It's series of things. First of all, we grow faster in large accounts, 21% versus small and medium, 7%. That branch, you know, we had to recover from a very difficult situation, and the turnaround plan was first to drive growth in large accounts and then progressively improve branch after branch, improve the profitability in our, in our growth market. We have 12% more branches that are profitable in Q1 that at the end of 2025. That's good. It's progressing. We started three years ago from a four years ago from a very difficult situation. We're improving but more to come, and that's going to deliver progressively EBITDA. I remind you that 2025 was the first year where we were positive in EBITDA. After so many years of being negative. It's trending nicely. We're doing the right things. We have traction in MSP business. We have a revenue retention, which is over 100% per client. We are accelerating the Talent Supply Chain model. We are seeing 25% field rate improvement, Q1 versus Q4 in our competence development center. We have traction. Given the size of the business, it takes time to fully deliver. It's on track. You know, quarter after quarter, we're improving. We have a solid pipeline. Yeah, we are anniversarying a few large clients, but we still have a solid pipeline. You know, I am very confident that, you know, our plan is delivering, and we continue to see nice results. Yeah. That was helpful. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Konrad Zomer with ABN AMRO-ODDO BHF. Your line is open. Yeah. Hi, good morning. I just wanted to come back on the margin development in Q1. I think you've done really well on the top line, but clearly, the operating margin is still below 3%, and I think most of us on the call have already expressed a slight disappointment on the gross margin development. To me, it reads a bit like if markets go down, you struggle to fight the negative operating leverage, but if markets go up, or at least if your top line goes up, you need to invest more in the business. Is it fair to say that structurally, over time, there will continue to be negative pressure on both the gross and the EBITDA margin? Is that how you look at your business, or do you still think you can get margins back up to historic levels? Thanks, Konrad. Let me first start with one point. You mentioned that it feels that when we grow, we need to invest. In Q1, we've grown 5.3%. Our SG&A were flat, and our SG&A over revenues was down 100 basis points. I don't think that I agree when we say that to grow, we need to invest. That is exactly what we are demonstrating here, that we are growing, and the growth is dropping through in profit. Gross profit was up 3% in Q1. EBITDA was up 24% organic constant currency. Net income was up 41% organic constant currency. I really think we have to be careful when we look at our year-on-year drop-through of the growth. That is been very profitable. I also want to remind you of one more thing. You mention us landing in Q1 below three. It's correct. It's 2.6. However, you know that typically our margin expands way more stepping into H2 versus H1, which is normal because Q1 and Q2 are lower volumes, lower trading days, lower working days. It is a normal behavior. What is important, I believe, is year-on-year also the margin is up 20 basis points. 40, if you consider the fact that we had an unusually high FX headwind of 20 basis points. On absolute terms, we're growing, but also in relative terms, we're really growing year-on-year, and it's thanks to growth that is materializing more profit. Okay. Okay, thank you. Thank you. Your next question comes from the line of Simon van Oppen with Kepler Cheuvreux. Your line is open. Hi, good morning. One question from me, please. Yeah, obviously in Q1, solid performance in terms of top line for Adecco, whereas Akkodis and LHH remain somewhat under pressure. I just have a question. Under what circumstances would you consider selling one of your GBUs or exit certain markets permanently where you don't expect growth to come back? Well, we're really pleased with the portfolio that we have. As you understand, we have a growth agenda, and every single piece of our business can deliver growth. We are constantly, of course, scanning the portfolio to make sure that we believe that every component of it remains relevant. You know, we have, for example, in Germany, we've divested this past year and the beginning of this year, we've divested, you know, small businesses that we believed were not bringing value and were a drag to our performance. We've done that. We continue to do that. There is nothing on our portfolio that of massive importance that would justify sell. You know, in terms of markets, I mean, we are, you know, as you could see, we are in a good place in many, many markets. There's no market that we don't think we couldn't turn around. Now, if I look at Akkodis, if you look at Akkodis' overall, we have a drag in Germany for sure, it's autos, right? Akkodis France is +2%, Italy is +4%, U.K. is +12%, Japan is +5%, U.S. is growing as well, like +5%. You know, I mean, this is growing. We have just this topic in Germany. We're also growing strongly in aerospace and defense in Akkodis, right? +22% overall. Even in Germany, we're growing +26%. Okay. We have very good underlying elements to our performance. In LHH, yeah, we're, you know, we have at the moment, you know, we have subdued market in permanent recruitment, but career transition is growing 5%. Ezra, our coaching platform, growing 35%. All these elements make us very confident that our growth agenda will continue to deliver. To Valley's earlier point, you know, this growth that we have in revenue is very, very nicely dropping through into EBITDA and EPS. Okay. Thank you very much. Your next question comes from the line of James Rowland Clark with Barclays. Your line is open. Morning. Hi. Two quick questions, please. One on the outlook. You talked about your positive volume momentum continuing from Q1 to Q2, but the comps get about two percentage points tougher. Can you just help us with, sort of, on a year-on-year organic trend, whether you think you're seeing the same level of growth as Q1 or maybe given the tough comps if you're a touch below that, but obviously that's still positive year-on-year. In APAC, the margin is a fraction softer year-on-year, but it's already very high. The reason is they are a very big sort of profit contributor for the overall group. I know you're investing there, looking to grow quickly, but is there a margin growth story here as well, or should we think about flat performance in the medium term, given you're putting a lot of branch and capacity into the region? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, James. I'm very confident. Yeah, comp base is getting tougher. Look at the dynamic that we have. Look at the progressive growth that we demonstrated since the beginning of 2025. Okay? Our teams are super motivated. They are, you know, they are compensated also through relative revenue growth. You heard me say that probably many times. I tell the team, "I don't care about macros, what matters is that you run faster than the others." That's how we've designed the incentives. You know, we are in fragmented markets, we're able to grow through, you know, very active sales team, through a very strong value proposition across all these services that are very meaningful with our clients. We're able to grow because we are more and more efficient in the way we serve our clients. I am, you know, I'm confident. Are we gonna have the same differential? I don't know. I can tell you we are, you know, we are on it. Volumes are trending very, very nicely so far. Hello, James. On your APAC question, of course, we're very pleased with the results in APAC. I have to say that we are pleased both when we look at Adecco but also Akkodis. We see APAC, of course, as an engine of growth, and it is a profitable growth. If I think about Adecco, there are countries. I mean, our biggest country is Japan. It's growing profitably. The productivity is up. It's one of the areas where we are investing because we see more opportunities. It's also an area where we grow nicely, not just in flex, but also in outsourcing, and that's accretive for our margin. When I think about Akkodis, also Japan is a growth story. The profit is also very nice. It's one of the countries that has the highest profitability within the Akkodis GBU. We're pleased. Yes, APAC is not just the growth, but it's a profitable growth story for sure for the group. Your next question comes from the line of Virginia Montorsi with Bank of America. Your line is open. Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I just had an additional one on Akkodis. Could you help us understand a little bit more what you're seeing on aerospace and defense as opposed to autos as two very different end markets and how you're thinking about the end of the year? I know you've touched on this on the call, especially in A&D, it would be interesting to understand a bit more how you're thinking about the space. Thank you. Thank you for your question. We are having great momentum in aerospace and defense. We have very good momentum in Adecco as well, by the way. We're growing high double digits in aerospace. You know, it's smaller volumes, of course, but we're having a good trend. In Akkodis, you know, as I said, we're growing 22%. It's across most of our geographies. And it's a mix of course, the investment that the defense, you know, sector is doing in many, many countries linked to the geopolitics. Also aerospace has a really great momentum. Akkodis is growing 22% in aerospace and defense. You know, I mentioned even in Germany, we're growing 26%, so that's really good. We're growing with all the major players, the Airbus, Thales, Safran, you know, of this world, Rheinmetall and Deutsche Aircraft. You know, all these big clients are, you know, asking us to support them. You know, in France, we are growing 13% in aerospace and defense as well. There's great momentum. We are doubling down on this sector. We are building capacity because there's a really a long tail of project that we have. We have great perspective, and we have extremely good positioning. The trust that our large clients have with us is really encouraging. We are, I see that as a very, very positive, you know, supporting trend in the future. Thank you very much. Very clear. Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. Your line is open. Yes, a quick follow-up, please, on the debt refinancing. Can you give us a refresh on the maturity profile of your debt and any material refinancing coming up and what would be the implications for your interest cost for 2027? Should it go up from the EUR 80 million you are expecting for 2026? Thank you. Hello, Simon. No, the regarding from 68 and 25 to 80, mainly because of the hybrid bond that we've successfully issued in April. We were very pleased because the coupon was very well done by our group treasury team. In terms of profile of debt, we continue to repay. You would expect that not only, of course, we will repay the EUR 500 million hybrid bond in December 2026, but we'll also repay the CHF 100 million Swiss franc bonds that also matures this year. Sorry, gross debts continue to go down in line with our trajectory to delever. Thank you. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Denis Machuel, CEO, for closing remarks. Thank you very much to all of you who've attended the call. I, you know, as you could hear from what we said, we are very confident in the future. You know, since I joined years years ago, my agenda has been to grow the business in fragmented markets. Okay? This is what is ahead of us. We've proven for the past 15 quarters, we've outperformed and gained share 13 of them. As we have this healthy top line, this is driving absolute profit growth. 5% revenue growth, 24% EBITDA growth this quarter, 41% EPS growth this quarter. Okay? This is my agenda, and it's delivering. We have big opportunities ahead of us. I was mentioning aerospace and defense, where we're doubling down and investing in further capabilities. I am extremely confident in the future. We have seen the volumes, nicely, you know, growing in early Q2. We are in a very good place for this year. Thank you very much for all your questions, and I look forward to, maybe more closer interactions in the, in the, in the weeks to come as we, do our roadshow. Have a great day. Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect.

Speaker 5: Thank you for standing by. My name is Kate and I will be your conference operator today. At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Adecco Group Q1 2026 results. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Benita Barretto, Head of Investor Relations and External Communications. Please go ahead. Thank you for standing by. thank you for standing by My name is Kate and I will be your conference operator today. my name is kate and i will be your conference operator today At this time, I would like to welcome everyone to the Adecco Group Q1 2026 results. at this time i would like to welcome everyone to the adecco group q1 2026 results All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. all lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. after the speaker's remarks there will be a question and answer session If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad. if you would like to ask a question during this time simply press star followed by the number one on your telephone keypad If you would like to withdraw your question, press star one again. if you would like to withdraw your question press star one again Thank you. thank you I would now like to turn the call over to Benita Barretto, Head of Investor Relations and External Communications. i would now like to turn the call over to benita barretto head of investor relations and external communications Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 1: Good morning. Thank you for joining the Adecco Group's conference call today. I'm Benita Barretto, the Group's Head of Investor Relations, and with me are the Adecco Group CEO, Denis Machuel, and CFO, Valentina Ficaio. Before we begin, please take note of the disclaimer on slide 2. Today's presentation will reference both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results and operating metrics. This conference call will include forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and, as always, present opportunities as well as risks and uncertainties. With that, I will now hand over to Denis. Good morning. good morning Thank you for joining the Adecco Group's conference call today. thank you for joining the adecco group's conference call today I'm Benita Barretto, the Group's Head of Investor Relations, and with me are the Adecco Group CEO, Denis Machuel, and CFO, Valentina Ficaio. i'm benita barretto the group's head of investor relations and with me are the adecco group ceo denis machuel and cfo valentina ficaio Before we begin, please take note of the disclaimer on slide 2. before we begin please take note of the disclaimer on slide 2 Today's presentation will reference both GAAP and non-GAAP financial results and operating metrics. today's presentation will reference both gaap and non-gaap financial results and operating metrics This conference call will include forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and, as always, present opportunities as well as risks and uncertainties. this conference call will include forward-looking statements which are based on current assumptions and as always present opportunities as well as risks and uncertainties With that, I will now hand over to Denis. with that i will now hand over to denis

Speaker 2: Thank you, Benita, and a warm welcome to all of you who've joined the call today. Let me begin with slide 3. I'm really pleased to present Q1 result that show a very strong start of the year. Organic revenue growth has continued to accelerate. In the first quarter, revenues was 5.3% year-on-year on an organic training days adjusted basis, a strong result. The group made further strong market share gains, outperforming key competitors by 365 basis points. We delivered a market-leading healthy 18.8% gross margin. The group, EBITDA, excluding one-offs, was 24% higher year-on-year on an organic constant currency basis. In turn, the EBITDA margin expanded 20 basis points year-on-year to a robust 2.6%. Leverage was reduced 0.2 times year-on-year, consistent with the ratio improvement delivered at the end of 2025. Thank you, Benita, and a warm welcome to all of you who've joined the call today. thank you benita and a warm welcome to all of you who've joined the call today Let me begin with slide 3. let me begin with slide 3 I'm really pleased to present Q1 result that show a very strong start of the year. i'm really pleased to present q1 result that show a very strong start of the year Organic revenue growth has continued to accelerate. organic revenue growth has continued to accelerate In the first quarter, revenues was 5.3% year-on-year on an organic training days adjusted basis, a strong result. in the first quarter revenues was 5.3% year-on-year on an organic training days adjusted basis a strong result The group made further strong market share gains, outperforming key competitors by 365 basis points. the group made further strong market share gains outperforming key competitors by 365 basis points We delivered a market-leading healthy 18.8% gross margin. we delivered a market-leading healthy 18.8% gross margin The group, EBITDA, excluding one-offs, was 24% higher year-on-year on an organic constant currency basis. the group ebitda excluding one-offs was 24% higher year-on-year on an organic constant currency basis In turn, the EBITDA margin expanded 20 basis points year-on-year to a robust 2.6%. in turn the ebitda margin expanded 20 basis points year-on-year to a robust 2.6% Leverage was reduced 0.2 times year-on-year, consistent with the ratio improvement delivered at the end of 2025. leverage was reduced 0.2 times year-on-year consistent with the ratio improvement delivered at the end of 2025 While the group's operating cash flow performance was solid, in line with normal seasonality and reflecting the business use of working capital during periods of rising revenue growth. Moreover, the group has continued to make swift progress with its AI agenda, from which we are capturing encouraging productivity and growth. Let's turn to slide four, which highlights how rigorous execution, including deploying AI tools and services, is supporting the group's strong growth momentum. The left-hand side shows flexible placement and outsourcing volume data for the Adecco business. Against a mixed market backdrop, the Adecco Group has seen volumes recovering for over 12 months. In Q1, volumes further improved sequentially, achieving solid growth year-on-year and moving consistently higher than levels achieved in the first quarter two years ago. Moving to the right side. Our Talent Supply Chain solution delivered healthy operational results this quarter. While the group's operating cash flow performance was solid, in line with normal seasonality and reflecting the business use of working capital during periods of rising revenue growth. while the group's operating cash flow performance was solid in line with normal seasonality and reflecting the business use of working capital during periods of rising revenue growth Moreover, the group has continued to make swift progress with its AI agenda, from which we are capturing encouraging productivity and growth. moreover the group has continued to make swift progress with its ai agenda from which we are capturing encouraging productivity and growth Let's turn to slide four, which highlights how rigorous execution, including deploying AI tools and services, is supporting the group's strong growth momentum. let's turn to slide four which highlights how rigorous execution including deploying ai tools and services is supporting the group's strong growth momentum The left-hand side shows flexible placement and outsourcing volume data for the Adecco business. the left-hand side shows flexible placement and outsourcing volume data for the adecco business Against a mixed market backdrop, the Adecco Group has seen volumes recovering for over 12 months. against a mixed market backdrop the adecco group has seen volumes recovering for over 12 months In Q1, volumes further improved sequentially, achieving solid growth year-on-year and moving consistently higher than levels achieved in the first quarter two years ago. in q1 volumes further improved sequentially achieving solid growth year-on-year and moving consistently higher than levels achieved in the first quarter two years ago Moving to the right side. moving to the right side Our Talent Supply Chain solution delivered healthy operational results this quarter. our talent supply chain solution delivered healthy operational results this quarter Looking at performance for our largest clients, the temp placement fill rates improved by 400 basis points year-on-year with a 25% faster time to submit and a 30% reduction in time to fill. As the chart shows, against a backdrop of 20% higher demand from our largest clients, we are able to increase field position 25% year-on-year in Q1. How did we achieve that? Well, actually, let's move to slide 5, where we highlight how AI is driving productivity and growth across the group. We continue to scale a more efficient, integrated AI-driven platform model across the group. We have consolidated more than 30 Salesforce instances into a single AI-enabled digital platform with 27,000 recruiters now operating on a common tech stack and all recruiters equipped with GenAI capabilities. Looking at performance for our largest clients, the temp placement fill rates improved by 400 basis points year-on-year with a 25% faster time to submit and a 30% reduction in time to fill. looking at performance for our largest clients the temp placement fill rates improved by 400 basis points year-on-year with a 25% faster time to submit and a 30% reduction in time to fill As the chart shows, against a backdrop of 20% higher demand from our largest clients, we are able to increase field position 25% year-on-year in Q1. as the chart shows against a backdrop of 20% higher demand from our largest clients we are able to increase field position 25% year-on-year in q1 How did we achieve that? how did we achieve that Well, actually, let's move to slide 5, where we highlight how AI is driving productivity and growth across the group. well actually let's move to slide 5 where we highlight how ai is driving productivity and growth across the group We continue to scale a more efficient, integrated AI-driven platform model across the group. we continue to scale a more efficient integrated ai-driven platform model across the group We have consolidated more than 30 Salesforce instances into a single AI-enabled digital platform with 27,000 recruiters now operating on a common tech stack and all recruiters equipped with GenAI capabilities. we have consolidated more than 30 salesforce instances into a single ai-enabled digital platform with 27,000 recruiters now operating on a common tech stack and all recruiters equipped with genai capabilities Automated order processing is up more than 65% year-on-year, year-to-date across nine countries, with plans to drive pace and efficiencies further. The group's Agentic AI rollout has accelerated, with agents now added to Germany, Spain, and selected global recruitment centers. We will upgrade existing agents this year and deploy around five new agents. For example, we are currently piloting an onboarding agent in Spain, offering benefits such as instant automated candidate verification. We already see tangible operational benefits. More than 30,000 agent conversations are now held monthly, while over 110,000 candidate skills have been updated through agents, enriching our candidate database, which support better search and matching. To date, agents have delivered around 20% time savings for our recruiters. By the end of 2026, we expect 50% of Adecco revenues to be covered by Agentic AI. Automated order processing is up more than 65% year-on-year, year-to-date across nine countries, with plans to drive pace and efficiencies further. automated order processing is up more than 65% year-on-year year-to-date across nine countries with plans to drive pace and efficiencies further The group's Agentic AI rollout has accelerated, with agents now added to Germany, Spain, and selected global recruitment centers. the group's agentic ai rollout has accelerated with agents now added to germany spain and selected global recruitment centers We will upgrade existing agents this year and deploy around five new agents. we will upgrade existing agents this year and deploy around five new agents For example, we are currently piloting an onboarding agent in Spain, offering benefits such as instant automated candidate verification. for example we are currently piloting an onboarding agent in spain offering benefits such as instant automated candidate verification We already see tangible operational benefits. we already see tangible operational benefits More than 30,000 agent conversations are now held monthly, while over 110,000 candidate skills have been updated through agents, enriching our candidate database, which support better search and matching. To date, agents have delivered around 20% time savings for our recruiters. more than 30,000 agent conversations are now held monthly while over 110,000 candidate skills have been updated through agents enriching our candidate database which support better search and matching. to date agents have delivered around 20% time savings for our recruiters By the end of 2026, we expect 50% of Adecco revenues to be covered by Agentic AI. by the end of 2026 we expect 50% of adecco revenues to be covered by agentic ai With these agents, we will be more efficient and more effective in delivery for our clients, and this in turn will help us grow faster. Let me now hand over to Valentina to deep dive on our Q1 results. With these agents, we will be more efficient and more effective in delivery for our clients, and this in turn will help us grow faster. with these agents we will be more efficient and more effective in delivery for our clients and this in turn will help us grow faster Let me now hand over to Valentina to deep dive on our Q1 results. let me now hand over to valentina to deep dive on our q1 results

Speaker 11: Thank you, Denis. Good morning to all. Let's begin with the GBU developments and Adecco on slide 6, where we are pleased to report growth across all regions. Adecco grew revenues by 6.6%, further improved sequentially. In relative terms, Adecco captured 210 basis points of market share gain and all regions grew, underpinned by momentum in flexible placement, where revenues increased 6% and in outsourcing, which grew 16%. We believe both flex and outsourcing are benefiting from an uncertain geopolitical context as they are highly agile services. While permanent placement remains soft, declining 7% this quarter. Adecco's gross profit improved, with the margin mainly reflecting lower permanent placement volumes and the current client mix in flexible placement. Thank you, Denis. thank you denis Good morning to all. good morning to all Let's begin with the GBU developments and Adecco on slide 6, where we are pleased to report growth across all regions. let's begin with the gbu developments and adecco on slide 6 where we are pleased to report growth across all regions Adecco grew revenues by 6.6%, further improved sequentially. adecco grew revenues by 6.6% further improved sequentially In relative terms, Adecco captured 210 basis points of market share gain and all regions grew, underpinned by momentum in flexible placement, where revenues increased 6% and in outsourcing, which grew 16%. in relative terms adecco captured 210 basis points of market share gain and all regions grew underpinned by momentum in flexible placement where revenues increased 6% and in outsourcing which grew 16% We believe both flex and outsourcing are benefiting from an uncertain geopolitical context as they are highly agile services. we believe both flex and outsourcing are benefiting from an uncertain geopolitical context as they are highly agile services While permanent placement remains soft, declining 7% this quarter. while permanent placement remains soft declining 7% this quarter Adecco's gross profit improved, with the margin mainly reflecting lower permanent placement volumes and the current client mix in flexible placement. adecco's gross profit improved with the margin mainly reflecting lower permanent placement volumes and the current client mix in flexible placement EBITDA rose 6% with a margin of 3%, mainly reflecting current business mix, largely offset through higher volumes, firm pricing and G&A savings benefit. Productivity rose 2% and selling FTEs were stable compared to the prior year period. Let's now move to Adecco at the segment level on slide 7. In Adecco France, revenues returned to growth, rising 1% and ahead of market. Onsite activities grew double digits, and in sector terms, autos and manufacturing were strong while healthcare was soft. The EBITDA margin of 1.5% mainly reflects current business mix. Management is implementing a cost optimization plan which delivered EUR 4 million run rate savings at the end of Q1. In Adecco EMEA, excluding France, revenue growth was strong, up 7% and sequentially improved. Most territories delivered good performance and grew ahead of competitors. EBITDA rose 6% with a margin of 3%, mainly reflecting current business mix, largely offset through higher volumes, firm pricing and G&A savings benefit. ebitda rose 6% with a margin of 3% mainly reflecting current business mix largely offset through higher volumes firm pricing and g&a savings benefit Productivity rose 2% and selling FTEs were stable compared to the prior year period. productivity rose 2% and selling ftes were stable compared to the prior year period Let's now move to Adecco at the segment level on slide 7. let's now move to adecco at the segment level on slide 7 In Adecco France, revenues returned to growth, rising 1% and ahead of market. in adecco france revenues returned to growth rising 1% and ahead of market Onsite activities grew double digits, and in sector terms, autos and manufacturing were strong while healthcare was soft. onsite activities grew double digits and in sector terms autos and manufacturing were strong while healthcare was soft The EBITDA margin of 1.5% mainly reflects current business mix. the ebitda margin of 1.5% mainly reflects current business mix Management is implementing a cost optimization plan which delivered EUR 4 million run rate savings at the end of Q1. management is implementing a cost optimization plan which delivered eur 4 million run rate savings at the end of q1 In Adecco EMEA, excluding France, revenue growth was strong, up 7% and sequentially improved. in adecco emea excluding france revenue growth was strong up 7% and sequentially improved Most territories delivered good performance and grew ahead of competitors. most territories delivered good performance and grew ahead of competitors When we look at the larger markets, revenue rose 6% in Italy, supported by strong activity in logistics and solid demand in financial services, tech and autos. Revenues in Iberia were up 16%, led by autos, financial services, food and beverage and consumer goods. DACH revenues were stable, a good result given market headwinds. Growth was strong in aerospace and defense and autos, while logistics and public sector activity was soft. In the U.K. and Ireland, revenues were up 5%, despite a tough market supported by strong demand in financial services and the public sector. The segment's EBITDA margin of 3% mainly reflects current business mix, mitigated by higher volumes and G&A savings, and productivity was up 7%. Turning now to slide 8. Adecco Americas delivered 15% revenue growth. North America continued to successfully execute its improvement plan. When we look at the larger markets, revenue rose 6% in Italy, supported by strong activity in logistics and solid demand in financial services, tech and autos. when we look at the larger markets revenue rose 6% in italy supported by strong activity in logistics and solid demand in financial services tech and autos Revenues in Iberia were up 16%, led by autos, financial services, food and beverage and consumer goods. revenues in iberia were up 16% led by autos financial services food and beverage and consumer goods DACH revenues were stable, a good result given market headwinds. dach revenues were stable a good result given market headwinds Growth was strong in aerospace and defense and autos, while logistics and public sector activity was soft. growth was strong in aerospace and defense and autos while logistics and public sector activity was soft In the U.K. and Ireland, revenues were up 5%, despite a tough market supported by strong demand in financial services and the public sector. in the u.k and ireland revenues were up 5% despite a tough market supported by strong demand in financial services and the public sector The segment's EBITDA margin of 3% mainly reflects current business mix, mitigated by higher volumes and G&A savings, and productivity was up 7%. the segment's ebitda margin of 3% mainly reflects current business mix mitigated by higher volumes and g&a savings and productivity was up 7% Turning now to slide 8. turning now to slide 8 Adecco Americas delivered 15% revenue growth. adecco americas delivered 15% revenue growth North America continued to successfully execute its improvement plan. north america continued to successfully execute its improvement plan Revenues remained very strong, growing 15% and above market trends. In sector terms, consumer goods, food and beverage and autos performed well. Latin American revenues remained strong, rising 15%, led by Colombia, Peru and Brazil. By sector logistics, financial services and retail were strong. The Americas EBITDA margin of 1.7% mainly reflects higher volumes and G&A savings benefit, partly mitigated by investment in capacity to fuel growth and productivity was stable. Turning to APAC, revenues continued to advance strongly, growing 8% with growth across all territories. Revenues rose 6% in Japan, 12% in Asia, 10% in India and 3% in Australia and New Zealand. By sector, growth was led by consulting, aerospace and defense and public sector services. FESCO delivered EUR 20 million of income in the quarter, stable year-on-year. Revenues remained very strong, growing 15% and above market trends. revenues remained very strong growing 15% and above market trends In sector terms, consumer goods, food and beverage and autos performed well. in sector terms consumer goods food and beverage and autos performed well Latin American revenues remained strong, rising 15%, led by Colombia, Peru and Brazil. latin american revenues remained strong rising 15% led by colombia peru and brazil By sector logistics, financial services and retail were strong. by sector logistics financial services and retail were strong The Americas EBITDA margin of 1.7% mainly reflects higher volumes and G&A savings benefit, partly mitigated by investment in capacity to fuel growth and productivity was stable. the americas ebitda margin of 1.7% mainly reflects higher volumes and g&a savings benefit partly mitigated by investment in capacity to fuel growth and productivity was stable Turning to APAC, revenues continued to advance strongly, growing 8% with growth across all territories. turning to apac revenues continued to advance strongly growing 8% with growth across all territories Revenues rose 6% in Japan, 12% in Asia, 10% in India and 3% in Australia and New Zealand. revenues rose 6% in japan 12% in asia 10% in india and 3% in australia and new zealand By sector, growth was led by consulting, aerospace and defense and public sector services. by sector growth was led by consulting aerospace and defense and public sector services FESCO delivered EUR 20 million of income in the quarter, stable year-on-year. fesco delivered eur 20 million of income in the quarter stable year-on-year APAC's EBITDA margin of 7.2% mainly reflect higher volumes and investment in capacity to drive future growth, and productivity rose 2%. Let's now move to slide 9 and Akkodis. Top line developments are stabilizing. Revenues were 1% lower, with consulting up 0.4%, supported by a strong acceleration in aerospace and defense, which was 22% higher. In EMEA, revenues were 3% lower. Looking at the key countries, revenues in France were 2% higher and ahead of market, with notable strength in aerospace and defense. However, Germany was 5% lower, with headwinds in autos partly offset by strong growth in aerospace and defense and manufacturing. North American revenues were up 5%, with tech staffing and consulting up 6% and 4% respectively. In APAC, revenues were 4% lower, weighed by Australia, where market conditions remain demanding. APAC's EBITDA margin of 7.2% mainly reflect higher volumes and investment in capacity to drive future growth, and productivity rose 2%. apac's ebitda margin of 7.2% mainly reflect higher volumes and investment in capacity to drive future growth and productivity rose 2% Let's now move to slide 9 and Akkodis. let's now move to slide 9 and akkodis Top line developments are stabilizing. top line developments are stabilizing Revenues were 1% lower, with consulting up 0.4%, supported by a strong acceleration in aerospace and defense, which was 22% higher. revenues were 1% lower with consulting up 0.4% supported by a strong acceleration in aerospace and defense which was 22% higher In EMEA, revenues were 3% lower. in emea revenues were 3% lower Looking at the key countries, revenues in France were 2% higher and ahead of market, with notable strength in aerospace and defense. However, Germany was 5% lower, with headwinds in autos partly offset by strong growth in aerospace and defense and manufacturing. looking at the key countries revenues in france were 2% higher and ahead of market with notable strength in aerospace and defense. however germany was 5% lower with headwinds in autos partly offset by strong growth in aerospace and defense and manufacturing North American revenues were up 5%, with tech staffing and consulting up 6% and 4% respectively. north american revenues were up 5% with tech staffing and consulting up 6% and 4% respectively In APAC, revenues were 4% lower, weighed by Australia, where market conditions remain demanding. in apac revenues were 4% lower weighed by australia where market conditions remain demanding Japan was strong, with revenues up 5%. Reflecting mainly the turnaround in Germany, Akkodis' profitability is improving. EBITDA rose 23%, while the margin of 4.2% was 70 basis points higher, also reflecting good project margin developments and a strong utilization rate of 90%. Let's now move to slide 10 and LHH's good performance. LHH's revenues were down 1% this quarter. Revenues in career transition were up 5%. U.S. revenues were 4% higher, a strong result given a softer job cuts dynamic in this market. India, Spain, and Switzerland performed well, and the business pipeline remains healthy. In professional recruitment solutions, revenues were 6% lower, reflecting continued market headwinds in permanent placement. Recruitment solutions gross profit was 8% lower, with the U.S. also 8% lower. Japan was strong, with revenues up 5%. japan was strong with revenues up 5% Reflecting mainly the turnaround in Germany, Akkodis' profitability is improving. reflecting mainly the turnaround in germany akkodis' profitability is improving EBITDA rose 23%, while the margin of 4.2% was 70 basis points higher, also reflecting good project margin developments and a strong utilization rate of 90%. ebitda rose 23% while the margin of 4.2% was 70 basis points higher also reflecting good project margin developments and a strong utilization rate of 90% Let's now move to slide 10 and LHH's good performance. let's now move to slide 10 and lhh's good performance LHH's revenues were down 1% this quarter. lhh's revenues were down 1% this quarter Revenues in career transition were up 5%. revenues in career transition were up 5% U.S. revenues were 4% higher, a strong result given a softer job cuts dynamic in this market. u.s revenues were 4% higher a strong result given a softer job cuts dynamic in this market India, Spain, and Switzerland performed well, and the business pipeline remains healthy. india spain and switzerland performed well and the business pipeline remains healthy In professional recruitment solutions, revenues were 6% lower, reflecting continued market headwinds in permanent placement. in professional recruitment solutions revenues were 6% lower reflecting continued market headwinds in permanent placement Recruitment solutions gross profit was 8% lower, with the U.S. also 8% lower. recruitment solutions gross profit was 8% lower with the u.s also 8% lower Productivity rose 11%, with billing FTEs down 13% due to further rightsizing efforts. In coaching and skilling, revenues rose 6%, led by Ezra, which grew revenues by 35%. LHH's EBITDA was up 50%. We were pleased to see the business deliver a double-digit EBITDA margin at 11%, reflecting positive business mix and strong cost mitigation. Let's now turn to slide 11 and the group's gross margin bridge. On a year-on-year basis, the group's 18.8% margin was driven by an unusually large FX headwind of 20 basis points, a 30 basis points impact from flexible placement, a 20 basis points impact from permanent placement, and a 10 basis points positive impact in outsourcing, consulting, and other services, mainly driven by Akkodis Germany. Productivity rose 11%, with billing FTEs down 13% due to further rightsizing efforts. productivity rose 11% with billing ftes down 13% due to further rightsizing efforts In coaching and skilling, revenues rose 6%, led by Ezra, which grew revenues by 35%. in coaching and skilling revenues rose 6% led by ezra which grew revenues by 35% LHH's EBITDA was up 50%. lhh's ebitda was up 50% We were pleased to see the business deliver a double-digit EBITDA margin at 11%, reflecting positive business mix and strong cost mitigation. we were pleased to see the business deliver a double-digit ebitda margin at 11% reflecting positive business mix and strong cost mitigation Let's now turn to slide 11 and the group's gross margin bridge. let's now turn to slide 11 and the group's gross margin bridge On a year-on-year basis, the group's 18.8% margin was driven by an unusually large FX headwind of 20 basis points, a 30 basis points impact from flexible placement, a 20 basis points impact from permanent placement, and a 10 basis points positive impact in outsourcing, consulting, and other services, mainly driven by Akkodis Germany. on a year-on-year basis the group's 18.8% margin was driven by an unusually large fx headwind of 20 basis points a 30 basis points impact from flexible placement a 20 basis points impact from permanent placement and a 10 basis points positive impact in outsourcing consulting and other services mainly driven by akkodis germany Overall, the result is healthy in the context of the current business mix, moving 40 basis points lower year-on-year on an organic basis. Let's now look at slide 12 and the group's EBITDA bridge. The EBITDA margin excluding one-offs was robust at 2.6%, up 20 basis points year-on-year and 40 basis points on a constant currency basis. The result was driven by a 20 basis points negative impact from FX, 10 basis points favorable impact from Akkodis Germany, and 30 basis points favorable development from higher gross profits excluding Akkodis Germany. Among key metrics, productivity is up 4% and G&A costs are at 3.2% of revenues, evidencing tight control over SG&A, which is stable year-on-year and 100 basis points lower as a percentage of revenues. Overall, the result is healthy in the context of the current business mix, moving 40 basis points lower year-on-year on an organic basis. overall the result is healthy in the context of the current business mix moving 40 basis points lower year-on-year on an organic basis Let's now look at slide 12 and the group's EBITDA bridge. let's now look at slide 12 and the group's ebitda bridge The EBITDA margin excluding one-offs was robust at 2.6%, up 20 basis points year-on-year and 40 basis points on a constant currency basis. the ebitda margin excluding one-offs was robust at 2.6% up 20 basis points year-on-year and 40 basis points on a constant currency basis The result was driven by a 20 basis points negative impact from FX, 10 basis points favorable impact from Akkodis Germany, and 30 basis points favorable development from higher gross profits excluding Akkodis Germany. the result was driven by a 20 basis points negative impact from fx 10 basis points favorable impact from akkodis germany and 30 basis points favorable development from higher gross profits excluding akkodis germany Among key metrics, productivity is up 4% and G&A costs are at 3.2% of revenues, evidencing tight control over SG&A, which is stable year-on-year and 100 basis points lower as a percentage of revenues. among key metrics productivity is up 4% and g&a costs are at 3.2% of revenues evidencing tight control over sg&a which is stable year-on-year and 100 basis points lower as a percentage of revenues Moving to slide 13 and the group's cash flow and financing structure. The last 12-month cash conversion ratio was strong at 94%. In Q1, we had an operating cash outflow of EUR 178 million, down EUR 34 million versus the prior year period. This cash result reflects good working capital management, working capital absorption for growth, and normal seasonality. The group's DSO remains best in class at 53.3 days. Including capital expenditure of EUR 22 million, the free cash outflow was EUR 200 million. Alongside strong cash performance, the group is strengthening its financial structures. Moving to slide 13 and the group's cash flow and financing structure. moving to slide 13 and the group's cash flow and financing structure The last 12-month cash conversion ratio was strong at 94%. the last 12-month cash conversion ratio was strong at 94% In Q1, we had an operating cash outflow of EUR 178 million, down EUR 34 million versus the prior year period. in q1 we had an operating cash outflow of eur 178 million down eur 34 million versus the prior year period This cash result reflects good working capital management, working capital absorption for growth, and normal seasonality. this cash result reflects good working capital management working capital absorption for growth and normal seasonality The group's DSO remains best in class at 53.3 days. the group's dso remains best in class at 53.3 days Including capital expenditure of EUR 22 million, the free cash outflow was EUR 200 million. including capital expenditure of eur 22 million the free cash outflow was eur 200 million Alongside strong cash performance, the group is strengthening its financial structures. alongside strong cash performance the group is strengthening its financial structures The net debt to EBITDA ratio improved 0.2 times, consistent with year-end 2025 progress on deleveraging, affirming progress to meet our commitment to bring the net debt to EBITDA ratio to 1.5 times or below by the end of 2027, absent any major macroeconomic or geopolitical disruption. In April, the group successfully issued a EUR 450 million hybrid bond with an attractive coupon of 4.875%. The group has strong liquidity resources, including an undrawn EUR 750 million revolving credit facility and low interest expenses. It has fixed interest rates on 76% of its outstanding gross debts and no financial covenants on any of its outstanding debts. The net debt to EBITDA ratio improved 0.2 times, consistent with year-end 2025 progress on deleveraging, affirming progress to meet our commitment to bring the net debt to EBITDA ratio to 1.5 times or below by the end of 2027, absent any major macroeconomic or geopolitical disruption. the net debt to ebitda ratio improved 0.2 times consistent with year-end 2025 progress on deleveraging affirming progress to meet our commitment to bring the net debt to ebitda ratio to 1.5 times or below by the end of 2027 absent any major macroeconomic or geopolitical disruption In April, the group successfully issued a EUR 450 million hybrid bond with an attractive coupon of 4.875%. in april the group successfully issued a eur 450 million hybrid bond with an attractive coupon of 4.875% The group has strong liquidity resources, including an undrawn EUR 750 million revolving credit facility and low interest expenses. the group has strong liquidity resources including an undrawn eur 750 million revolving credit facility and low interest expenses It has fixed interest rates on 76% of its outstanding gross debts and no financial covenants on any of its outstanding debts. it has fixed interest rates on 76% of its outstanding gross debts and no financial covenants on any of its outstanding debts With regards to the dividend, 53% of shareholders elected for the scrip, resulting in 5.3 million new share issues issued at CHF 16.94 per share and CHF 79 million of cash distribution in Q2. We are pleased with the take-up of our scrip dividend and thank our shareholders for their continued partnership. Moving on to slide 14, where we provide our near-term outlook. The group has seen a continuation of the positive momentum in volumes to date this quarter. For Q2, the group expects gross margin to be marginally lower sequentially, reflecting normal seasonality. It expects SG&A expenses excluding one-offs to be marginally higher sequentially. We are rigorously executing the group's strategy and run and change priorities, focusing on market share gains while managing costs and capacity with discipline to continue driving profitable growth. With that, I'll hand back to Denis. With regards to the dividend, 53% of shareholders elected for the scrip, resulting in 5.3 million new share issues issued at CHF 16.94 per share and CHF 79 million of cash distribution in Q2. with regards to the dividend 53% of shareholders elected for the scrip resulting in 5.3 million new share issues issued at chf 16.94 per share and chf 79 million of cash distribution in q2 We are pleased with the take-up of our scrip dividend and thank our shareholders for their continued partnership. Moving on to slide 14, where we provide our near-term outlook. we are pleased with the take-up of our scrip dividend and thank our shareholders for their continued partnership. moving on to slide 14 where we provide our near-term outlook The group has seen a continuation of the positive momentum in volumes to date this quarter. the group has seen a continuation of the positive momentum in volumes to date this quarter For Q2, the group expects gross margin to be marginally lower sequentially, reflecting normal seasonality. for q2 the group expects gross margin to be marginally lower sequentially reflecting normal seasonality It expects SG&A expenses excluding one-offs to be marginally higher sequentially. it expects sg&a expenses excluding one-offs to be marginally higher sequentially We are rigorously executing the group's strategy and run and change priorities, focusing on market share gains while managing costs and capacity with discipline to continue driving profitable growth. we are rigorously executing the group's strategy and run and change priorities focusing on market share gains while managing costs and capacity with discipline to continue driving profitable growth With that, I'll hand back to Denis. with that i'll hand back to denis

Speaker 2: Thank you, Valentina. Let's now turn to slide 15. Before I conclude, let me share an executive committee leadership change. Ranjit de Sousa has been appointed as President of LHH and member of the Group Executive Committee effective today. He will succeed Gaëlle de la Fosse, who has decided to leave the company to pursue opportunities outside the group following the handover period. I'd like to sincerely and warmly thank Gaëlle for her significant contribution over the past four years. Under her vision, LHH has been successfully repositioned into an end-to-end executive and professional talent solutions leader. We are pleased to welcome Ranjit back to the Adecco Group to lead LHH. Thank you, Valentina. thank you valentina Let's now turn to slide 15. let's now turn to slide 15 Before I conclude, let me share an executive committee leadership change. before i conclude let me share an executive committee leadership change Ranjit de Sousa has been appointed as President of LHH and member of the Group Executive Committee effective today. ranjit de sousa has been appointed as president of lhh and member of the group executive committee effective today He will succeed Gaëlle de la Fosse, who has decided to leave the company to pursue opportunities outside the group following the handover period. he will succeed gaëlle de la fosse who has decided to leave the company to pursue opportunities outside the group following the handover period I'd like to sincerely and warmly thank Gaëlle for her significant contribution over the past four years. i'd like to sincerely and warmly thank gaëlle for her significant contribution over the past four years Under her vision, LHH has been successfully repositioned into an end-to-end executive and professional talent solutions leader. under her vision lhh has been successfully repositioned into an end-to-end executive and professional talent solutions leader We are pleased to welcome Ranjit back to the Adecco Group to lead LHH. we are pleased to welcome ranjit back to the adecco group to lead lhh He's a highly effective leader who will build on the strong momentum of LHH using his experience and track record to further drive innovation, leveraging human-centric AI, and ensuring clients and candidates benefit from the full power of the Adecco Group's offering. Moving to slide 16. Let me conclude with our key takeaways. We have made a very strong start to 2026. We've delivered strong revenue growth and market share gains in the first quarter, with AI deployment demonstrably driving competitive strength. The group's EBITA increased by 24%, a strong improvement that reflects disciplined strategic execution and rigorous cost management. Productivity was also up 4% year-on-year. The balance sheet is improved, and there is more to come. Deleveraging remains the clear priority for the group. With that, we'd like to thank you for your attention and open the lines for Q&A. He's a highly effective leader who will build on the strong momentum of LHH using his experience and track record to further drive innovation, leveraging human-centric AI, and ensuring clients and candidates benefit from the full power of the Adecco Group's offering. he's a highly effective leader who will build on the strong momentum of lhh using his experience and track record to further drive innovation leveraging human-centric ai and ensuring clients and candidates benefit from the full power of the adecco group's offering Moving to slide 16. moving to slide 16 Let me conclude with our key takeaways. let me conclude with our key takeaways We have made a very strong start to 2026. we have made a very strong start to 2026 We've delivered strong revenue growth and market share gains in the first quarter, with AI deployment demonstrably driving competitive strength. we've delivered strong revenue growth and market share gains in the first quarter with ai deployment demonstrably driving competitive strength The group's EBITA increased by 24%, a strong improvement that reflects disciplined strategic execution and rigorous cost management. the group's ebita increased by 24% a strong improvement that reflects disciplined strategic execution and rigorous cost management Productivity was also up 4% year-on-year. productivity was also up 4% year-on-year The balance sheet is improved, and there is more to come. the balance sheet is improved and there is more to come Deleveraging remains the clear priority for the group. deleveraging remains the clear priority for the group With that, we'd like to thank you for your attention and open the lines for Q&A. with that we'd like to thank you for your attention and open the lines for q&a We are ready for the first questions. We are ready for the first questions. we are ready for the first questions

Speaker 5: At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. Your first question comes from the line of Suhasini Varanasi with Goldman Sachs. Your line is open. At this time, I would like to remind everyone, in order to ask a question, press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad. at this time i would like to remind everyone in order to ask a question press star then the number 1 on your telephone keypad Your first question comes from the line of Suhasini Varanasi with Goldman Sachs. your first question comes from the line of suhasini varanasi with goldman sachs Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 10: Hi, good morning. Thank you for taking my question. Just one for me, please. I think on SG&A, maybe there was a little bit of a surprise to the upside, on costs in 1st quarter, and you're continuing to invest going into the next quarter. Can you maybe help us understand the dynamics behind this development here? Which are the regions why you, where you're choosing to invest? What changed, I suppose, through the course of the quarter that made you want to invest a bit more? Thank you. Hi, good morning. hi good morning Thank you for taking my question. thank you for taking my question Just one for me, please. just one for me please I think on SG&A, maybe there was a little bit of a surprise to the upside, on costs in 1st quarter, and you're continuing to invest going into the next quarter. i think on sg&a maybe there was a little bit of a surprise to the upside on costs in 1st quarter and you're continuing to invest going into the next quarter Can you maybe help us understand the dynamics behind this development here? can you maybe help us understand the dynamics behind this development here Which are the regions why you, where you're choosing to invest? which are the regions why you where you're choosing to invest What changed, I suppose, through the course of the quarter that made you want to invest a bit more? what changed i suppose through the course of the quarter that made you want to invest a bit more Thank you. thank you

Speaker 2: I think Vale, who likes to control as much as I do, by the way, like to control the cost, will answer that question. I think Vale, who likes to control as much as I do, by the way, like to control the cost, will answer that question. i think vale who likes to control as much as i do by the way like to control the cost will answer that question

Speaker 11: Thank you, Suhasini, for the question. I think what is clearly the takeaway is the revenue growth that we've seen stepping into Q1 2026 was very strong. As always, we are very close to the behavior that each country shows, and we take deliberate choices to ensure that whenever we see growth, we capture it. Selectively, we have chosen to invest a bit more in some of these countries to ensure that we capture this growth. Which by the way, we've done successfully in Q1, and it was profitable growth, as you've seen how this improved our profit year-on-year. We see this momentum continuing. Thank you, Suhasini, for the question. thank you suhasini for the question I think what is clearly the takeaway is the revenue growth that we've seen stepping into Q1 2026 was very strong. i think what is clearly the takeaway is the revenue growth that we've seen stepping into q1 2026 was very strong As always, we are very close to the behavior that each country shows, and we take deliberate choices to ensure that whenever we see growth, we capture it. as always we are very close to the behavior that each country shows and we take deliberate choices to ensure that whenever we see growth we capture it Selectively, we have chosen to invest a bit more in some of these countries to ensure that we capture this growth. selectively we have chosen to invest a bit more in some of these countries to ensure that we capture this growth Which by the way, we've done successfully in Q1, and it was profitable growth, as you've seen how this improved our profit year-on-year. which by the way we've done successfully in q1 and it was profitable growth as you've seen how this improved our profit year-on-year We see this momentum continuing. we see this momentum continuing It is very important that we remind ourselves that, to make these deliberate choices is relevant also because we need to ensure that then we have the right capacity stepping into Q2, and more importantly, into H2, where volumes go up, trading days go up, and then the opportunities of growth become even more important. That's how we thought about it, and that's how you should think about us investing a bit more in S in these territories that are growing. It is very important that we remind ourselves that, to make these deliberate choices is relevant also because we need to ensure that then we have the right capacity stepping into Q2, and more importantly, into H2, where volumes go up, trading days go up, and then the opportunities of growth become even more important. it is very important that we remind ourselves that to make these deliberate choices is relevant also because we need to ensure that then we have the right capacity stepping into q2 and more importantly into h2 where volumes go up trading days go up and then the opportunities of growth become even more important That's how we thought about it, and that's how you should think about us investing a bit more in S in these territories that are growing. that's how we thought about it and that's how you should think about us investing a bit more in s in these territories that are growing

Speaker 10: I see. Got it. Thank you. I see. i see Got it. got it Thank you. thank you Sorry. Please go ahead. Sorry. sorry Please go ahead. please go ahead

Speaker 2: Yeah. I just want to say, you know, we are also very focused on maintaining our G&A cost, you know, flat and at below 3.5% of revenue. We are laser focused on that. Yeah. yeah I just want to say, you know, we are also very focused on maintaining our G&A cost, you know, flat and at below 3.5% of revenue. i just want to say you know we are also very focused on maintaining our g&a cost you know flat and at below 3.5% of revenue We are laser focused on that. we are laser focused on that

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Rémi Grenu with Morgan Stanley. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Rémi Grenu with Morgan Stanley. your next question comes from the line of rémi grenu with morgan stanley Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 7: Good morning. A few questions on my side, if I may. The first one is related to the previous question on this G&A, maybe taking a little bit of a step back there. Then you were talking about AI implementation time, 20% time saved for recruiter, increase in productivity. I guess one could have thought that this would translate into a higher drop-through or lower necessity to invest in cost when the volume is coming back. I guess the question would be whether you think it's just a matter of time. It takes time for this initiative to yield financial results, and if so, when would you expect to see the benefits materializing on the PNL. That's the first question on AI and cost. The second one is on the current momentum. Good morning. good morning A few questions on my side, if I may. a few questions on my side if i may The first one is related to the previous question on this G&A, maybe taking a little bit of a step back there. the first one is related to the previous question on this g&a maybe taking a little bit of a step back there Then you were talking about AI implementation time, 20% time saved for recruiter, increase in productivity. then you were talking about ai implementation time 20% time saved for recruiter increase in productivity I guess one could have thought that this would translate into a higher drop-through or lower necessity to invest in cost when the volume is coming back. i guess one could have thought that this would translate into a higher drop-through or lower necessity to invest in cost when the volume is coming back I guess the question would be whether you think it's just a matter of time. i guess the question would be whether you think it's just a matter of time It takes time for this initiative to yield financial results, and if so, when would you expect to see the benefits materializing on the PNL. it takes time for this initiative to yield financial results and if so when would you expect to see the benefits materializing on the pnl That's the first question on AI and cost. that's the first question on ai and cost The second one is on the current momentum. the second one is on the current momentum Looking at the data published in March and April from the different providers, it feels a little bit, and tell me if I'm wrong, that temp has continued to gradually improve, but perm has deteriorated a little bit once again and was weaker. Of course, different by countries, but are you seeing something which is consistent with that trend? If so, would you say it's consistent with what's happening in the Middle East, higher uncertainty, and clients moving toward a flex placement? The last question is on Akkodis. I think Germany, as you were saying, was probably a little bit weaker. Any additional favor you can give on that, whether you think it's a multi-quarter weakness we can expect? Is it the beginning of an inflection toward a little bit of a deterioration? Looking at the data published in March and April from the different providers, it feels a little bit, and tell me if I'm wrong, that temp has continued to gradually improve, but perm has deteriorated a little bit once again and was weaker. looking at the data published in march and april from the different providers it feels a little bit and tell me if i'm wrong that temp has continued to gradually improve but perm has deteriorated a little bit once again and was weaker Of course, different by countries, but are you seeing something which is consistent with that trend? of course different by countries but are you seeing something which is consistent with that trend If so, would you say it's consistent with what's happening in the Middle East, higher uncertainty, and clients moving toward a flex placement? if so would you say it's consistent with what's happening in the middle east higher uncertainty and clients moving toward a flex placement The last question is on Akkodis. the last question is on akkodis I think Germany, as you were saying, was probably a little bit weaker. i think germany as you were saying was probably a little bit weaker Any additional favor you can give on that, whether you think it's a multi-quarter weakness we can expect? any additional favor you can give on that whether you think it's a multi-quarter weakness we can expect Is it the beginning of an inflection toward a little bit of a deterioration? is it the beginning of an inflection toward a little bit of a deterioration Do you feel like at this point you need to, maybe adjust the size of the bench or take any significant actions? Do you feel like at this point you need to, maybe adjust the size of the bench or take any significant actions? do you feel like at this point you need to maybe adjust the size of the bench or take any significant actions

Speaker 2: Thank you, Remi. I'm gonna start with AI, and then I think Valentina will compliment. You know, we're very optimistic about how we are scaling AI, but it's still in scaling mode, okay? What we see is productivity is coming in, okay? That's gonna be very promising in the future. It helps us gain market share. In terms of the cost, you know, we, particularly when we scale Agentic AI, we signed a contract with Salesforce that gives us unlimited access to agents for a fixed price, which means whatever volume we put on top, we don't have additional costs. That's I think it's a pretty good thing. It maybe in terms of the dynamic of the drop-through, you wanna say something, Valentina. Thank you, Remi. thank you remi I'm gonna start with AI, and then I think Valentina will compliment. i'm gonna start with ai and then i think valentina will compliment You know, we're very optimistic about how we are scaling AI, but it's still in scaling mode, okay? you know we're very optimistic about how we are scaling ai but it's still in scaling mode okay What we see is productivity is coming in, okay? what we see is productivity is coming in okay That's gonna be very promising in the future. that's gonna be very promising in the future It helps us gain market share. it helps us gain market share In terms of the cost, you know, we, particularly when we scale Agentic AI, we signed a contract with Salesforce that gives us unlimited access to agents for a fixed price, which means whatever volume we put on top, we don't have additional costs. in terms of the cost you know we particularly when we scale agentic ai we signed a contract with salesforce that gives us unlimited access to agents for a fixed price which means whatever volume we put on top we don't have additional costs That's I think it's a pretty good thing. that's i think it's a pretty good thing It maybe in terms of the dynamic of the drop-through, you wanna say something, Valentina. it maybe in terms of the dynamic of the drop-through you wanna say something valentina I'm gonna go on the market improvement and the other questions. I'm gonna go on the market improvement and the other questions. i'm gonna go on the market improvement and the other questions

Speaker 11: What I think is very important, building on what, on what Denis just said, is we're really driving the return on investments of these modest investments that we're doing in AI. That, by the way, within the business, the usage we keep within the selling cost to ensure that accountability is driven and within the results that the leaders are delivering. What I think is really important, Remi, is on a year-on-year basis, revenues were up 5.3%. Our SG&A ratio over revenues is down 100 basis points. That tells you that this revenue growth that we are generating with additional gross profit is dropping through. The fact that on a year-on-year basis, our EBITDA improves 25 24% organically is through profit generated. What I think is very important, building on what, on what Denis just said, is we're really driving the return on investments of these modest investments that we're doing in AI. what i think is very important building on what on what denis just said is we're really driving the return on investments of these modest investments that we're doing in ai That, by the way, within the business, the usage we keep within the selling cost to ensure that accountability is driven and within the results that the leaders are delivering. that by the way within the business the usage we keep within the selling cost to ensure that accountability is driven and within the results that the leaders are delivering What I think is really important, Remi, is on a year-on-year basis, revenues were up 5.3%. what i think is really important remi is on a year-on-year basis revenues were up 5.3% Our SG&A ratio over revenues is down 100 basis points. our sg&a ratio over revenues is down 100 basis points That tells you that this revenue growth that we are generating with additional gross profit is dropping through. that tells you that this revenue growth that we are generating with additional gross profit is dropping through The fact that on a year-on-year basis, our EBITDA improves 25 24% organically is through profit generated. the fact that on a year-on-year basis our ebitda improves 25 24% organically is through profit generated Cash was flat year-over-year. This is growth that is not just profitable, but driven by strong productivity, also thanks to AI, dropping 100% through with additional profit. This is important, you have to look at it also on a year-over-year perspective. Cash was flat year-over-year. cash was flat year-over-year This is growth that is not just profitable, but driven by strong productivity, also thanks to AI, dropping 100% through with additional profit. this is growth that is not just profitable but driven by strong productivity also thanks to ai dropping 100% through with additional profit This is important, you have to look at it also on a year-over-year perspective. this is important you have to look at it also on a year-over-year perspective

Speaker 2: Now on the trends. As we said, we have seen a positive trend on the volumes, on the flex volumes, you know, all through Q1, and it continues in Q2, which makes us, you know, very positive about the future. It's driven by probably the uncertainty economy, which is not that bad, and the uncertainty that favors more flexible placement than permanent placement. You're right, permanent placement. I don't think it's deteriorating. It's just the same trend that we've seen mostly linked to uncertainty where clients do not want to bet on or recruiting permanently. It's true across many geographies. However, if you think about 3 particular geographies where we have a pretty nice momentum. Now on the trends. now on the trends As we said, we have seen a positive trend on the volumes, on the flex volumes, you know, all through Q1, and it continues in Q2, which makes us, you know, very positive about the future. as we said we have seen a positive trend on the volumes on the flex volumes you know all through q1 and it continues in q2 which makes us you know very positive about the future It's driven by probably the uncertainty economy, which is not that bad, and the uncertainty that favors more flexible placement than permanent placement. it's driven by probably the uncertainty economy which is not that bad and the uncertainty that favors more flexible placement than permanent placement You're right, permanent placement. you're right permanent placement I don't think it's deteriorating. i don't think it's deteriorating It's just the same trend that we've seen mostly linked to uncertainty where clients do not want to bet on or recruiting permanently. it's just the same trend that we've seen mostly linked to uncertainty where clients do not want to bet on or recruiting permanently It's true across many geographies. it's true across many geographies However, if you think about 3 particular geographies where we have a pretty nice momentum. however if you think about 3 particular geographies where we have a pretty nice momentum You know, in Adecco, you know, Spain is growing 8% in permanent recruitment, and you know how good the economy is in Spain. In APAC, we are, you know, we are growing 10% in permanent recruitment in Adecco. In LHH, we are growing 19% in Latam in permanent recruitment. We're growing 3% in Spain. The problem is the rest of the regions are probably more sensitive to macros and, yeah, it's true that at the moment it's really subdued. Let's be clear, we're still doing close to EUR 1 billion in permanent recruitment. It's still a nice, you know, business. It will remain quite dynamic. It will continue, albeit at lower levels. You know, in Adecco, you know, Spain is growing 8% in permanent recruitment, and you know how good the economy is in Spain. you know in adecco you know spain is growing 8% in permanent recruitment and you know how good the economy is in spain In APAC, we are, you know, we are growing 10% in permanent recruitment in Adecco. in apac we are you know we are growing 10% in permanent recruitment in adecco In LHH, we are growing 19% in Latam in permanent recruitment. in lhh we are growing 19% in latam in permanent recruitment We're growing 3% in Spain. we're growing 3% in spain The problem is the rest of the regions are probably more sensitive to macros and, yeah, it's true that at the moment it's really subdued. the problem is the rest of the regions are probably more sensitive to macros and yeah it's true that at the moment it's really subdued Let's be clear, we're still doing close to EUR 1 billion in permanent recruitment. let's be clear we're still doing close to eur 1 billion in permanent recruitment It's still a nice, you know, business. it's still a nice you know business It will remain quite dynamic. it will remain quite dynamic It will continue, albeit at lower levels. it will continue albeit at lower levels However, we're well positioned whenever the recovery comes, and we of course manage in capacity. Of course, macros today support flex, and we are seeing continuous momentum on flex volumes, and also outsourcing. You know, we mentioned 16% growth in outsourcing. Now Germany. Definitely, we have a two sides of the coin. We have still pressure on autos, okay? We were expecting a little bit more dynamic. There's still pressure, and it's mainly coming from the German OEMs, and, you know, it is what it is. However, on the other side, we have fantastic growth in our space and defense, 26% with all the large clients that we have. We've seen growth in energy, growth in manufacturing. However, we're well positioned whenever the recovery comes, and we of course manage in capacity. however we're well positioned whenever the recovery comes and we of course manage in capacity Of course, macros today support flex, and we are seeing continuous momentum on flex volumes, and also outsourcing. of course macros today support flex and we are seeing continuous momentum on flex volumes and also outsourcing You know, we mentioned 16% growth in outsourcing. you know we mentioned 16% growth in outsourcing Now Germany. now germany Definitely, we have a two sides of the coin. definitely we have a two sides of the coin We have still pressure on autos, okay? we have still pressure on autos okay We were expecting a little bit more dynamic. we were expecting a little bit more dynamic There's still pressure, and it's mainly coming from the German OEMs, and, you know, it is what it is. there's still pressure and it's mainly coming from the german oems and you know it is what it is However, on the other side, we have fantastic growth in our space and defense, 26% with all the large clients that we have. however on the other side we have fantastic growth in our space and defense 26% with all the large clients that we have We've seen growth in energy, growth in manufacturing. we've seen growth in energy growth in manufacturing I mean, there is momentum here. However, of course, given the size of autos in Germany, it puts pressure on the overall results. Our margin is up 70% 70, sorry, basis points year-on-year. We are, to your point, Remi, managing the bench. We are adjusting. We are continuing to do savings. We see the top line stabilizing. I would not say fully stable yet, but stabilizing. We are very actively, you know, saving costs. We've done two divestments, and we are managing the bench, very actively. You know, I think on the midterm, I have a positive outlook on Germany. At the moment, it's still a bit under pressure. I mean, there is momentum here. i mean there is momentum here However, of course, given the size of autos in Germany, it puts pressure on the overall results. however of course given the size of autos in germany it puts pressure on the overall results Our margin is up 70% 70, sorry, basis points year-on-year. our margin is up 70% 70 sorry basis points year-on-year We are, to your point, Remi, managing the bench. we are to your point remi managing the bench We are adjusting. we are adjusting We are continuing to do savings. we are continuing to do savings We see the top line stabilizing. we see the top line stabilizing I would not say fully stable yet, but stabilizing. i would not say fully stable yet but stabilizing We are very actively, you know, saving costs. we are very actively you know saving costs We've done two divestments, and we are managing the bench, very actively. we've done two divestments and we are managing the bench very actively You know, I think on the midterm, I have a positive outlook on Germany. you know i think on the midterm i have a positive outlook on germany At the moment, it's still a bit under pressure. at the moment it's still a bit under pressure

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. your next question comes from the line of simon lechipre with jefferies Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 8: Yes, good morning. I've got three, please. First of all, could you give us a brief for the gross margin in Q2, and what is the degree of conservatism baked into this guidance, given it has been a few quarters in a row now where GM came in weaker than expected? Secondly, can you help us understand why gross margin would come down in Q2 while SG&A would go up? Lastly, a follow-up on one of the previous question. You are talking about profitable growth and the productivity gain from AI. If we look at the gross margin of the TEM business, it has been incrementally weaker over the past quarter. Does that mean that you are sharing most of the productivity gains with clients and driving this deflationary trend? Thank you. Yes, good morning. yes good morning I've got three, please. i've got three please First of all, could you give us a brief for the gross margin in Q2, and what is the degree of conservatism baked into this guidance, given it has been a few quarters in a row now where GM came in weaker than expected? first of all could you give us a brief for the gross margin in q2 and what is the degree of conservatism baked into this guidance given it has been a few quarters in a row now where gm came in weaker than expected Secondly, can you help us understand why gross margin would come down in Q2 while SG&A would go up? secondly can you help us understand why gross margin would come down in q2 while sg&a would go up Lastly, a follow-up on one of the previous question. lastly a follow-up on one of the previous question You are talking about profitable growth and the productivity gain from AI. you are talking about profitable growth and the productivity gain from ai If we look at the gross margin of the TEM business, it has been incrementally weaker over the past quarter. if we look at the gross margin of the tem business it has been incrementally weaker over the past quarter Does that mean that you are sharing most of the productivity gains with clients and driving this deflationary trend? does that mean that you are sharing most of the productivity gains with clients and driving this deflationary trend Thank you. thank you

Speaker 11: Thanks, Simon. I'll take your first and second question, and then I'll hand over. Thanks, Simon. thanks simon I'll take your first and second question, and then I'll hand over. i'll take your first and second question and then i'll hand over

Speaker 8: Yeah. Mm-hmm Yeah. yeah Mm-hmm mm-hmm

Speaker 11: To Denis Machuel for the 3rd one. Looking at the outlook, first on gross margin. What we see and what you should model thinking about Q2 is marginally lower in the region of 20 basis points, considering that FX will continue to be a headwind, albeit smaller than what you've seen in Q1, more in the region of 10 basis points. You were asking why we have to think about this being lower. I think we also have to remember that Q2 in comparison to Q1, seasonally, we always see volumes in larger clients being a bit bigger. There's also a trading days that are actually lower. To Denis Machuel for the 3rd one. to denis machuel for the 3rd one Looking at the outlook, first on gross margin. looking at the outlook first on gross margin What we see and what you should model thinking about Q2 is marginally lower in the region of 20 basis points, considering that FX will continue to be a headwind, albeit smaller than what you've seen in Q1, more in the region of 10 basis points. what we see and what you should model thinking about q2 is marginally lower in the region of 20 basis points considering that fx will continue to be a headwind albeit smaller than what you've seen in q1 more in the region of 10 basis points You were asking why we have to think about this being lower. you were asking why we have to think about this being lower I think we also have to remember that Q2 in comparison to Q1, seasonally, we always see volumes in larger clients being a bit bigger. i think we also have to remember that q2 in comparison to q1 seasonally we always see volumes in larger clients being a bit bigger There's also a trading days that are actually lower. there's also a trading days that are actually lower These are the main elements that I would model. Looking about looking at SG&A, G&A tightly under control, well below 3.5. We continue to capture pockets of efficiencies, but on there's there's continuation. You have to think about our guidance in light of the strong momentum on growth that we continue to see. We will continue to selectively invest in assets to ensure that we capture that growth. H2 will be up in terms of trading days, so we have to be prepared to capture that growth. Productivity will continue to be strong and up. You should also model for our SG&A ratio over sales on a year-on-year perspective to perform well and down on a year-on-year basis. These are the main elements that I would model. these are the main elements that i would model Looking about looking at SG&A, G&A tightly under control, well below 3.5. looking about looking at sg&a g&a tightly under control well below 3.5 We continue to capture pockets of efficiencies, but on there's there's continuation. we continue to capture pockets of efficiencies but on there's there's continuation You have to think about our guidance in light of the strong momentum on growth that we continue to see. you have to think about our guidance in light of the strong momentum on growth that we continue to see We will continue to selectively invest in assets to ensure that we capture that growth. we will continue to selectively invest in assets to ensure that we capture that growth H2 will be up in terms of trading days, so we have to be prepared to capture that growth. h2 will be up in terms of trading days so we have to be prepared to capture that growth Productivity will continue to be strong and up. productivity will continue to be strong and up You should also model for our SG&A ratio over sales on a year-on-year perspective to perform well and down on a year-on-year basis. you should also model for our sg&a ratio over sales on a year-on-year perspective to perform well and down on a year-on-year basis

Speaker 2: With regards to the productivity gains from AI, what we're doing is, you know, AI helps us really reduce our cost to serve with the large clients. You know, large clients are very competitive. When you talk about, you know, the % gross margin, there's a lot that's coming from the mix because we are growing very, very nicely in our large clients. There's a bit of a difference with the growth on small and medium companies, which is a big focus now, for sure. Of course, and driving, you know, better cost to serve, to serve the large clients is fundamental. It's not that we are sharing productivity gains with clients. With regards to the productivity gains from AI, what we're doing is, you know, AI helps us really reduce our cost to serve with the large clients. with regards to the productivity gains from ai what we're doing is you know ai helps us really reduce our cost to serve with the large clients You know, large clients are very competitive. you know large clients are very competitive When you talk about, you know, the % gross margin, there's a lot that's coming from the mix because we are growing very, very nicely in our large clients. when you talk about you know the % gross margin there's a lot that's coming from the mix because we are growing very very nicely in our large clients There's a bit of a difference with the growth on small and medium companies, which is a big focus now, for sure. there's a bit of a difference with the growth on small and medium companies which is a big focus now for sure Of course, and driving, you know, better cost to serve, to serve the large clients is fundamental. of course and driving you know better cost to serve to serve the large clients is fundamental It's not that we are sharing productivity gains with clients. it's not that we are sharing productivity gains with clients I mean, the environment with the large ones is always very competitive. We are more and more scaling AI to improve our cost to serve, improve our productivity, and that's gonna help us sustain, you know, our gross margin. The thing is more the mix than what happens on the client side. The spread, bill rate, pay rate is still positive, so it's a question of mix. I'm very positive with the way we are scaling, you know, on the front line with our clients. That delivers efficiency. That delivers value creation. We are able to go faster to deliver candidates to our clients. We have a better qualification. I mean, the environment with the large ones is always very competitive. i mean the environment with the large ones is always very competitive We are more and more scaling AI to improve our cost to serve, improve our productivity, and that's gonna help us sustain, you know, our gross margin. we are more and more scaling ai to improve our cost to serve improve our productivity and that's gonna help us sustain you know our gross margin The thing is more the mix than what happens on the client side. the thing is more the mix than what happens on the client side The spread, bill rate, pay rate is still positive, so it's a question of mix. the spread bill rate pay rate is still positive so it's a question of mix I'm very positive with the way we are scaling, you know, on the front line with our clients. i'm very positive with the way we are scaling you know on the front line with our clients That delivers efficiency. that delivers efficiency That delivers value creation. that delivers value creation We are able to go faster to deliver candidates to our clients. we are able to go faster to deliver candidates to our clients We have a better qualification. we have a better qualification We, you know, this is very promising as we move. We will also deploy AI in the branches, in our network. It takes a bit more time than scaling, you know, AI in our global recruitment centers. We are currently piloting AI in what we call branch of the future and getting all the learnings that we have from the large accounts in the smaller ones. We'll keep you posted on that, but that's also promising. Thank you. We, you know, this is very promising as we move. we you know this is very promising as we move We will also deploy AI in the branches, in our network. we will also deploy ai in the branches in our network It takes a bit more time than scaling, you know, AI in our global recruitment centers. it takes a bit more time than scaling you know ai in our global recruitment centers We are currently piloting AI in what we call branch of the future and getting all the learnings that we have from the large accounts in the smaller ones. we are currently piloting ai in what we call branch of the future and getting all the learnings that we have from the large accounts in the smaller ones We'll keep you posted on that, but that's also promising. Thank you. we'll keep you posted on that but that's also promising. thank you Thank you, Remi. Thank you, Remi. thank you remi

Speaker 5: Your next Your next your next

Speaker 2: Thank you, Simon. Sorry. Thank you, Simon. thank you simon Sorry. sorry

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Rory McKenzie with UBS. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Rory McKenzie with UBS. your next question comes from the line of rory mckenzie with ubs Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 6: Morning all. It's Rory here. I just want to ask again about the gross margin, 'cause I think we're all still seeing it as a puzzle. If I look at the absolute organic growth in revenues and the absolute organic growth in gross profit that you report for the last four quarters, I calculate an incremental organic gross margin of 10%. That last 12 months is the period in which you have returned to growth, and so I guess, you know, why shouldn't we think that that 10% in gross margin is representative of the average margin that you're, you know, able to win in this environment? What's going on within that explains why I'm only measuring a 10% margin? Morning all. morning all It's Rory here. it's rory here I just want to ask again about the gross margin, 'cause I think we're all still seeing it as a puzzle. i just want to ask again about the gross margin 'cause i think we're all still seeing it as a puzzle If I look at the absolute organic growth in revenues and the absolute organic growth in gross profit that you report for the last four quarters, I calculate an incremental organic gross margin of 10%. if i look at the absolute organic growth in revenues and the absolute organic growth in gross profit that you report for the last four quarters i calculate an incremental organic gross margin of 10% That last 12 months is the period in which you have returned to growth, and so I guess, you know, why shouldn't we think that that 10% in gross margin is representative of the average margin that you're, you know, able to win in this environment? that last 12 months is the period in which you have returned to growth and so i guess you know why shouldn't we think that that 10% in gross margin is representative of the average margin that you're you know able to win in this environment What's going on within that explains why I'm only measuring a 10% margin? what's going on within that explains why i'm only measuring a 10% margin

Speaker 11: Thanks, Rory. I'll try to unpack it a bit more for you. The reason why you see that difference is clearly coming from the mix. When I talk about mix, is on the one hand client mix, yes, because the further growth that has accelerated even more in Q1 comes from larger clients, but it's also country mix. You have seen that we have grown, in some cases even double digits, in countries that mainly based on the fact that it's lower salaries on average terms. That also skews our gross margin overall a little bit down. Thanks, Rory. thanks rory I'll try to unpack it a bit more for you. i'll try to unpack it a bit more for you The reason why you see that difference is clearly coming from the mix. the reason why you see that difference is clearly coming from the mix When I talk about mix, is on the one hand client mix, yes, because the further growth that has accelerated even more in Q1 comes from larger clients, but it's also country mix. when i talk about mix is on the one hand client mix yes because the further growth that has accelerated even more in q1 comes from larger clients but it's also country mix You have seen that we have grown, in some cases even double digits, in countries that mainly based on the fact that it's lower salaries on average terms. you have seen that we have grown in some cases even double digits in countries that mainly based on the fact that it's lower salaries on average terms That also skews our gross margin overall a little bit down. that also skews our gross margin overall a little bit down That helps us on the SG&A ratio, and that is why you see such a strong performance also of the SG&A ratio year-over-year going down. You have to look at those two in conjunction. If you look only at the gross profit in absolute terms growing, You see both of those impacts, client mix, but also the country mix. That helps us on the SG&A ratio, and that is why you see such a strong performance also of the SG&A ratio year-over-year going down. that helps us on the sg&a ratio and that is why you see such a strong performance also of the sg&a ratio year-over-year going down You have to look at those two in conjunction. you have to look at those two in conjunction If you look only at the gross profit in absolute terms growing, You see both of those impacts, client mix, but also the country mix. if you look only at the gross profit in absolute terms growing you see both of those impacts client mix but also the country mix

Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah. yeah

Speaker 11: I hope this helps. I hope this helps. i hope this helps

Speaker 6: No, that does. No, actually, my second question. Again, you'll guess what I've been playing with this morning. If I look at the organic growth in SG&A, again, over that last four quarters, I think I get to a organic incremental conversion ratio of 101% for the last 12 months, which obviously is great, but again, in some ways. No, that does. no that does No, actually, my second question. no actually my second question Again, you'll guess what I've been playing with this morning. again you'll guess what i've been playing with this morning If I look at the organic growth in SG&A, again, over that last four quarters, I think I get to a organic incremental conversion ratio of 101% for the last 12 months, which obviously is great, but again, in some ways. if i look at the organic growth in sg&a again over that last four quarters i think i get to a organic incremental conversion ratio of 101% for the last 12 months which obviously is great but again in some ways

Speaker 11: Yeah Yeah yeah

Speaker 6: looks perhaps unsustainable at that level to drop everything through to profits. looks perhaps unsustainable at that level to drop everything through to profits. looks perhaps unsustainable at that level to drop everything through to profits

Speaker 11: I see what you mean. I see what you mean. i see what you mean

Speaker 6: is that. is that. is that

Speaker 11: but there are more levers, right? There are more levers that we are starting to pull and will come through more strongly over the next quarters. Because when I think about Akkodis Germany, not the vast majority has come in. More will come. There's further improvement in North America. There is a clear further improvement coming from France. So you have to expect improvement coming not just from this, and so the relationship between gross profit growing and how do we deal with that, but the other areas so that we are working on to diversify but also to improve and turn around some of the units. but there are more levers, right? but there are more levers right There are more levers that we are starting to pull and will come through more strongly over the next quarters. there are more levers that we are starting to pull and will come through more strongly over the next quarters Because when I think about Akkodis Germany, not the vast majority has come in. because when i think about akkodis germany not the vast majority has come in More will come. more will come There's further improvement in North America. there's further improvement in north america There is a clear further improvement coming from France. there is a clear further improvement coming from france So you have to expect improvement coming not just from this, and so the relationship between gross profit growing and how do we deal with that, but the other areas so that we are working on to diversify but also to improve and turn around some of the units. so you have to expect improvement coming not just from this and so the relationship between gross profit growing and how do we deal with that but the other areas so that we are working on to diversify but also to improve and turn around some of the units

Speaker 6: Understood. That's helpful. Thank you. Understood. understood That's helpful. that's helpful Thank you. thank you

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Will Kirkness with Bernstein. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Will Kirkness with Bernstein. your next question comes from the line of will kirkness with bernstein Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 13: Thanks very much. I've got two, please. Firstly, you mentioned bill rates, and pay rate spread's still positive. I just wonder if you could talk about price versus volume, those components overall in the growth intent, and whether you're seeing wage inflation or conversations about wage inflation creeping back. Secondly, looking at a couple of regions, and I guess sort of linking in with Rory's question to some degree. In France, you've got growth coming through now but margin's down a bit. I guess you would expect that to sort of correct in the coming quarters, just interested in the outlook there. In Americas, appreciate margins are up year-on-year, but you're seeing very good growth there. Thanks very much. thanks very much I've got two, please. i've got two please Firstly, you mentioned bill rates, and pay rate spread's still positive. firstly you mentioned bill rates and pay rate spread's still positive I just wonder if you could talk about price versus volume, those components overall in the growth intent, and whether you're seeing wage inflation or conversations about wage inflation creeping back. i just wonder if you could talk about price versus volume those components overall in the growth intent and whether you're seeing wage inflation or conversations about wage inflation creeping back Secondly, looking at a couple of regions, and I guess sort of linking in with Rory's question to some degree. secondly looking at a couple of regions and i guess sort of linking in with rory's question to some degree In France, you've got growth coming through now but margin's down a bit. in france you've got growth coming through now but margin's down a bit I guess you would expect that to sort of correct in the coming quarters, just interested in the outlook there. i guess you would expect that to sort of correct in the coming quarters just interested in the outlook there In Americas, appreciate margins are up year-on-year, but you're seeing very good growth there. in americas appreciate margins are up year-on-year but you're seeing very good growth there There's been, you know, a number of years, I think, of self-help turnaround. Just wondering there why margin's still sub 2 and where you would expect those to move to over the coming quarters. Thank you. There's been, you know, a number of years, I think, of self-help turnaround. there's been you know a number of years i think of self-help turnaround Just wondering there why margin's still sub 2 and where you would expect those to move to over the coming quarters. just wondering there why margin's still sub 2 and where you would expect those to move to over the coming quarters Thank you. thank you

Speaker 2: I think Valentina will take the first one, and I'll take your second part. I think Valentina will take the first one, and I'll take your second part. i think valentina will take the first one and i'll take your second part

Speaker 11: Yeah. Thanks, Will. In terms of spread, you've heard already Denis mentioning that it continues to grow positively, in terms of bill to pay rate. You were mentioning the behavior on wage inflation. What we see consistently now is a very modest wage inflation, and this is applicable both to what we see based on our cost base, but also in the market. That's how you should model it moving forward. Very modest wage inflation. Spread continues to be positive. Yeah. yeah Thanks, Will. thanks will In terms of spread, you've heard already Denis mentioning that it continues to grow positively, in terms of bill to pay rate. in terms of spread you've heard already denis mentioning that it continues to grow positively in terms of bill to pay rate You were mentioning the behavior on wage inflation. you were mentioning the behavior on wage inflation What we see consistently now is a very modest wage inflation, and this is applicable both to what we see based on our cost base, but also in the market. what we see consistently now is a very modest wage inflation and this is applicable both to what we see based on our cost base but also in the market That's how you should model it moving forward. that's how you should model it moving forward Very modest wage inflation. very modest wage inflation Spread continues to be positive. spread continues to be positive

Speaker 2: As far as the two regions you're mentioning, if France, we're pleased to be back to growth. We are at 1%. We are ahead of the market, which is good. We definitely, we have, and that's again, that's the mix that Valentina was talking about. We still have a better dynamic with large accounts than with small and medium enterprises, which of course, again, weighs on the profitability. We have a strong plan to do several things. First of all, to reactivate strongly how we go to market with small and medium enterprises. That's it's underway. We also want to scale up faster the, you know, the Talent Supply Chain model. That helps us reduce our cost to serve so that the profitability with the large accounts is improving. As far as the two regions you're mentioning, if France, we're pleased to be back to growth. as far as the two regions you're mentioning if france we're pleased to be back to growth We are at 1%. we are at 1% We are ahead of the market, which is good. we are ahead of the market which is good We definitely, we have, and that's again, that's the mix that Valentina was talking about. we definitely we have and that's again that's the mix that valentina was talking about We still have a better dynamic with large accounts than with small and medium enterprises, which of course, again, weighs on the profitability. we still have a better dynamic with large accounts than with small and medium enterprises which of course again weighs on the profitability We have a strong plan to do several things. we have a strong plan to do several things First of all, to reactivate strongly how we go to market with small and medium enterprises. first of all to reactivate strongly how we go to market with small and medium enterprises That's it's underway. that's it's underway We also want to scale up faster the, you know, the Talent Supply Chain model. That helps us reduce our cost to serve so that the profitability with the large accounts is improving. we also want to scale up faster the you know the talent supply chain model. that helps us reduce our cost to serve so that the profitability with the large accounts is improving We also have an SG&A program to make sure that we delivered the cost 4 million of cost optimization. We believe there's still pockets of permanent placement opportunities in tech, in construction, in a few sectors. This is, I think this is going to be helping us in the quarters to come. Just a quick parenthesis. We're talking about Adecco, Akkodis is growing 2%. Our Space & Defense is growing 13%. Autos even growing 3% in Akkodis. We have, on that side, we have a very good momentum in France. U.S. or Americas or U.S., we're growing nicely, and it's the same thing. You know, we're growing 15%. We also have an SG&A program to make sure that we delivered the cost 4 million of cost optimization. we also have an sg&a program to make sure that we delivered the cost 4 million of cost optimization We believe there's still pockets of permanent placement opportunities in tech, in construction, in a few sectors. we believe there's still pockets of permanent placement opportunities in tech in construction in a few sectors This is, I think this is going to be helping us in the quarters to come. this is i think this is going to be helping us in the quarters to come Just a quick parenthesis. just a quick parenthesis We're talking about Adecco, Akkodis is growing 2%. we're talking about adecco akkodis is growing 2% Our Space & Defense is growing 13%. our space & defense is growing 13% Autos even growing 3% in Akkodis. autos even growing 3% in akkodis We have, on that side, we have a very good momentum in France. we have on that side we have a very good momentum in france U.S. or Americas or U.S., we're growing nicely, and it's the same thing. u.s or americas or u.s we're growing nicely and it's the same thing You know, we're growing 15%. you know we're growing 15% We've improved the margin 60 basis points, as you said, we're still below 2%. It's series of things. First of all, we grow faster in large accounts, 21% versus small and medium, 7%. That branch, you know, we had to recover from a very difficult situation, and the turnaround plan was first to drive growth in large accounts and then progressively improve branch after branch, improve the profitability in our, in our growth market. We have 12% more branches that are profitable in Q1 that at the end of 2025. That's good. It's progressing. We started three years ago from a four years ago from a very difficult situation. We've improved the margin 60 basis points, as you said, we're still below 2%. we've improved the margin 60 basis points as you said we're still below 2% It's series of things. it's series of things First of all, we grow faster in large accounts, 21% versus small and medium, 7%. first of all we grow faster in large accounts 21% versus small and medium 7% That branch, you know, we had to recover from a very difficult situation, and the turnaround plan was first to drive growth in large accounts and then progressively improve branch after branch, improve the profitability in our, in our growth market. that branch you know we had to recover from a very difficult situation and the turnaround plan was first to drive growth in large accounts and then progressively improve branch after branch improve the profitability in our in our growth market We have 12% more branches that are profitable in Q1 that at the end of 2025. we have 12% more branches that are profitable in q1 that at the end of 2025 That's good. that's good It's progressing. it's progressing We started three years ago from a four years ago from a very difficult situation. we started three years ago from a four years ago from a very difficult situation We're improving but more to come, and that's going to deliver progressively EBITDA. I remind you that 2025 was the first year where we were positive in EBITDA. After so many years of being negative. It's trending nicely. We're doing the right things. We have traction in MSP business. We have a revenue retention, which is over 100% per client. We are accelerating the Talent Supply Chain model. We are seeing 25% field rate improvement, Q1 versus Q4 in our competence development center. We have traction. Given the size of the business, it takes time to fully deliver. It's on track. You know, quarter after quarter, we're improving. We have a solid pipeline. We're improving but more to come, and that's going to deliver progressively EBITDA. we're improving but more to come and that's going to deliver progressively ebitda I remind you that 2025 was the first year where we were positive in EBITDA. i remind you that 2025 was the first year where we were positive in ebitda After so many years of being negative. after so many years of being negative It's trending nicely. it's trending nicely We're doing the right things. we're doing the right things We have traction in MSP business. we have traction in msp business We have a revenue retention, which is over 100% per client. we have a revenue retention which is over 100% per client We are accelerating the Talent Supply Chain model. we are accelerating the talent supply chain model We are seeing 25% field rate improvement, Q1 versus Q4 in our competence development center. we are seeing 25% field rate improvement q1 versus q4 in our competence development center We have traction. we have traction Given the size of the business, it takes time to fully deliver. given the size of the business it takes time to fully deliver It's on track. it's on track You know, quarter after quarter, we're improving. you know quarter after quarter we're improving We have a solid pipeline. we have a solid pipeline Yeah, we are anniversarying a few large clients, but we still have a solid pipeline. You know, I am very confident that, you know, our plan is delivering, and we continue to see nice results. Yeah, we are anniversarying a few large clients, but we still have a solid pipeline. yeah we are anniversarying a few large clients but we still have a solid pipeline You know, I am very confident that, you know, our plan is delivering, and we continue to see nice results. you know i am very confident that you know our plan is delivering and we continue to see nice results

Speaker 13: Yeah. That was helpful. Thank you. Yeah. yeah That was helpful. that was helpful Thank you. thank you

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Konrad Zomer with ABN AMRO-ODDO BHF. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Konrad Zomer with ABN AMRO-ODDO BHF. your next question comes from the line of konrad zomer with abn amro-oddo bhf Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 4: Yeah. Hi, good morning. I just wanted to come back on the margin development in Q1. I think you've done really well on the top line, but clearly, the operating margin is still below 3%, and I think most of us on the call have already expressed a slight disappointment on the gross margin development. To me, it reads a bit like if markets go down, you struggle to fight the negative operating leverage, but if markets go up, or at least if your top line goes up, you need to invest more in the business. Is it fair to say that structurally, over time, there will continue to be negative pressure on both the gross and the EBITDA margin? Yeah. yeah Hi, good morning. hi good morning I just wanted to come back on the margin development in Q1. i just wanted to come back on the margin development in q1 I think you've done really well on the top line, but clearly, the operating margin is still below 3%, and I think most of us on the call have already expressed a slight disappointment on the gross margin development. i think you've done really well on the top line but clearly the operating margin is still below 3% and i think most of us on the call have already expressed a slight disappointment on the gross margin development To me, it reads a bit like if markets go down, you struggle to fight the negative operating leverage, but if markets go up, or at least if your top line goes up, you need to invest more in the business. to me it reads a bit like if markets go down you struggle to fight the negative operating leverage but if markets go up or at least if your top line goes up you need to invest more in the business Is it fair to say that structurally, over time, there will continue to be negative pressure on both the gross and the EBITDA margin? is it fair to say that structurally over time there will continue to be negative pressure on both the gross and the ebitda margin Is that how you look at your business, or do you still think you can get margins back up to historic levels? Is that how you look at your business, or do you still think you can get margins back up to historic levels? is that how you look at your business or do you still think you can get margins back up to historic levels

Speaker 11: Thanks, Konrad. Let me first start with one point. You mentioned that it feels that when we grow, we need to invest. In Q1, we've grown 5.3%. Our SG&A were flat, and our SG&A over revenues was down 100 basis points. I don't think that I agree when we say that to grow, we need to invest. That is exactly what we are demonstrating here, that we are growing, and the growth is dropping through in profit. Gross profit was up 3% in Q1. EBITDA was up 24% organic constant currency. Net income was up 41% organic constant currency. I really think we have to be careful when we look at our year-on-year drop-through of the growth. That is been very profitable. Thanks, Konrad. thanks konrad Let me first start with one point. let me first start with one point You mentioned that it feels that when we grow, we need to invest. you mentioned that it feels that when we grow we need to invest In Q1, we've grown 5.3%. in q1 we've grown 5.3% Our SG&A were flat, and our SG&A over revenues was down 100 basis points. our sg&a were flat and our sg&a over revenues was down 100 basis points I don't think that I agree when we say that to grow, we need to invest. i don't think that i agree when we say that to grow we need to invest That is exactly what we are demonstrating here, that we are growing, and the growth is dropping through in profit. that is exactly what we are demonstrating here that we are growing and the growth is dropping through in profit Gross profit was up 3% in Q1. gross profit was up 3% in q1 EBITDA was up 24% organic constant currency. ebitda was up 24% organic constant currency Net income was up 41% organic constant currency. net income was up 41% organic constant currency I really think we have to be careful when we look at our year-on-year drop-through of the growth. i really think we have to be careful when we look at our year-on-year drop-through of the growth That is been very profitable. that is been very profitable I also want to remind you of one more thing. You mention us landing in Q1 below three. It's correct. It's 2.6. However, you know that typically our margin expands way more stepping into H2 versus H1, which is normal because Q1 and Q2 are lower volumes, lower trading days, lower working days. It is a normal behavior. What is important, I believe, is year-on-year also the margin is up 20 basis points. 40, if you consider the fact that we had an unusually high FX headwind of 20 basis points. On absolute terms, we're growing, but also in relative terms, we're really growing year-on-year, and it's thanks to growth that is materializing more profit. I also want to remind you of one more thing. i also want to remind you of one more thing You mention us landing in Q1 below three. you mention us landing in q1 below three It's correct. it's correct It's 2.6. it's 2.6 However, you know that typically our margin expands way more stepping into H2 versus H1, which is normal because Q1 and Q2 are lower volumes, lower trading days, lower working days. however you know that typically our margin expands way more stepping into h2 versus h1 which is normal because q1 and q2 are lower volumes lower trading days lower working days It is a normal behavior. it is a normal behavior What is important, I believe, is year-on-year also the margin is up 20 basis points. 40, if you consider the fact that we had an unusually high FX headwind of 20 basis points. what is important i believe is year-on-year also the margin is up 20 basis points 40 if you consider the fact that we had an unusually high fx headwind of 20 basis points On absolute terms, we're growing, but also in relative terms, we're really growing year-on-year, and it's thanks to growth that is materializing more profit. on absolute terms we're growing but also in relative terms we're really growing year-on-year and it's thanks to growth that is materializing more profit

Speaker 4: Okay. Okay, thank you. Okay. okay Okay, thank you. okay thank you

Speaker 11: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Simon van Oppen with Kepler Cheuvreux. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Simon van Oppen with Kepler Cheuvreux. your next question comes from the line of simon van oppen with kepler cheuvreux Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 9: Hi, good morning. One question from me, please. Yeah, obviously in Q1, solid performance in terms of top line for Adecco, whereas Akkodis and LHH remain somewhat under pressure. I just have a question. Under what circumstances would you consider selling one of your GBUs or exit certain markets permanently where you don't expect growth to come back? Hi, good morning. hi good morning One question from me, please. one question from me please Yeah, obviously in Q1, solid performance in terms of top line for Adecco, whereas Akkodis and LHH remain somewhat under pressure. yeah obviously in q1 solid performance in terms of top line for adecco whereas akkodis and lhh remain somewhat under pressure I just have a question. i just have a question Under what circumstances would you consider selling one of your GBUs or exit certain markets permanently where you don't expect growth to come back? under what circumstances would you consider selling one of your gbus or exit certain markets permanently where you don't expect growth to come back

Speaker 2: Well, we're really pleased with the portfolio that we have. As you understand, we have a growth agenda, and every single piece of our business can deliver growth. We are constantly, of course, scanning the portfolio to make sure that we believe that every component of it remains relevant. You know, we have, for example, in Germany, we've divested this past year and the beginning of this year, we've divested, you know, small businesses that we believed were not bringing value and were a drag to our performance. We've done that. We continue to do that. There is nothing on our portfolio that of massive importance that would justify sell. Well, we're really pleased with the portfolio that we have. well we're really pleased with the portfolio that we have As you understand, we have a growth agenda, and every single piece of our business can deliver growth. as you understand we have a growth agenda and every single piece of our business can deliver growth We are constantly, of course, scanning the portfolio to make sure that we believe that every component of it remains relevant. we are constantly of course scanning the portfolio to make sure that we believe that every component of it remains relevant You know, we have, for example, in Germany, we've divested this past year and the beginning of this year, we've divested, you know, small businesses that we believed were not bringing value and were a drag to our performance. you know we have for example in germany we've divested this past year and the beginning of this year we've divested you know small businesses that we believed were not bringing value and were a drag to our performance We've done that. we've done that We continue to do that. we continue to do that There is nothing on our portfolio that of massive importance that would justify sell. there is nothing on our portfolio that of massive importance that would justify sell You know, in terms of markets, I mean, we are, you know, as you could see, we are in a good place in many, many markets. There's no market that we don't think we couldn't turn around. Now, if I look at Akkodis, if you look at Akkodis' overall, we have a drag in Germany for sure, it's autos, right? Akkodis France is +2%, Italy is +4%, U.K. is +12%, Japan is +5%, U.S. is growing as well, like +5%. You know, I mean, this is growing. We have just this topic in Germany. We're also growing strongly in aerospace and defense in Akkodis, right? +22% overall. Even in Germany, we're growing +26%. Okay. You know, in terms of markets, I mean, we are, you know, as you could see, we are in a good place in many, many markets. you know in terms of markets i mean we are you know as you could see we are in a good place in many many markets There's no market that we don't think we couldn't turn around. there's no market that we don't think we couldn't turn around Now, if I look at Akkodis, if you look at Akkodis' overall, we have a drag in Germany for sure, it's autos, right? now if i look at akkodis if you look at akkodis' overall we have a drag in germany for sure it's autos right Akkodis France is +2%, Italy is +4%, U.K. is +12%, Japan is +5%, U.S. is growing as well, like +5%. akkodis france is +2% italy is +4% u.k is +12% japan is +5% u.s is growing as well like +5% You know, I mean, this is growing. you know i mean this is growing We have just this topic in Germany. we have just this topic in germany We're also growing strongly in aerospace and defense in Akkodis, right? +22% overall. we're also growing strongly in aerospace and defense in akkodis right +22% overall Even in Germany, we're growing +26%. even in germany we're growing +26% Okay. okay We have very good underlying elements to our performance. In LHH, yeah, we're, you know, we have at the moment, you know, we have subdued market in permanent recruitment, but career transition is growing 5%. Ezra, our coaching platform, growing 35%. All these elements make us very confident that our growth agenda will continue to deliver. To Valley's earlier point, you know, this growth that we have in revenue is very, very nicely dropping through into EBITDA and EPS. We have very good underlying elements to our performance. we have very good underlying elements to our performance In LHH, yeah, we're, you know, we have at the moment, you know, we have subdued market in permanent recruitment, but career transition is growing 5%. in lhh yeah we're you know we have at the moment you know we have subdued market in permanent recruitment but career transition is growing 5% Ezra, our coaching platform, growing 35%. ezra our coaching platform growing 35% All these elements make us very confident that our growth agenda will continue to deliver. all these elements make us very confident that our growth agenda will continue to deliver To Valley's earlier point, you know, this growth that we have in revenue is very, very nicely dropping through into EBITDA and EPS. to valley's earlier point you know this growth that we have in revenue is very very nicely dropping through into ebitda and eps

Speaker 9: Okay. Thank you very much. Okay. okay Thank you very much. thank you very much

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of James Rowland Clark with Barclays. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of James Rowland Clark with Barclays. your next question comes from the line of james rowland clark with barclays Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 3: Morning. Hi. Two quick questions, please. One on the outlook. You talked about your positive volume momentum continuing from Q1 to Q2, but the comps get about two percentage points tougher. Can you just help us with, sort of, on a year-on-year organic trend, whether you think you're seeing the same level of growth as Q1 or maybe given the tough comps if you're a touch below that, but obviously that's still positive year-on-year. In APAC, the margin is a fraction softer year-on-year, but it's already very high. The reason is they are a very big sort of profit contributor for the overall group. Morning. morning Hi. hi Two quick questions, please. two quick questions please One on the outlook. one on the outlook You talked about your positive volume momentum continuing from Q1 to Q2, but the comps get about two percentage points tougher. you talked about your positive volume momentum continuing from q1 to q2 but the comps get about two percentage points tougher Can you just help us with, sort of, on a year-on-year organic trend, whether you think you're seeing the same level of growth as Q1 or maybe given the tough comps if you're a touch below that, but obviously that's still positive year-on-year. can you just help us with sort of on a year-on-year organic trend whether you think you're seeing the same level of growth as q1 or maybe given the tough comps if you're a touch below that but obviously that's still positive year-on-year In APAC, the margin is a fraction softer year-on-year, but it's already very high. in apac the margin is a fraction softer year-on-year but it's already very high The reason is they are a very big sort of profit contributor for the overall group. the reason is they are a very big sort of profit contributor for the overall group I know you're investing there, looking to grow quickly, but is there a margin growth story here as well, or should we think about flat performance in the medium term, given you're putting a lot of branch and capacity into the region? Thank you. I know you're investing there, looking to grow quickly, but is there a margin growth story here as well, or should we think about flat performance in the medium term, given you're putting a lot of branch and capacity into the region? i know you're investing there looking to grow quickly but is there a margin growth story here as well or should we think about flat performance in the medium term given you're putting a lot of branch and capacity into the region Thank you. thank you

Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you, James. I'm very confident. Yeah, comp base is getting tougher. Look at the dynamic that we have. Look at the progressive growth that we demonstrated since the beginning of 2025. Okay? Our teams are super motivated. They are, you know, they are compensated also through relative revenue growth. You heard me say that probably many times. I tell the team, "I don't care about macros, what matters is that you run faster than the others." That's how we've designed the incentives. You know, we are in fragmented markets, we're able to grow through, you know, very active sales team, through a very strong value proposition across all these services that are very meaningful with our clients. Thank you. thank you Thank you, James. thank you james I'm very confident. i'm very confident Yeah, comp base is getting tougher. yeah comp base is getting tougher Look at the dynamic that we have. look at the dynamic that we have Look at the progressive growth that we demonstrated since the beginning of 2025. look at the progressive growth that we demonstrated since the beginning of 2025 Okay? okay Our teams are super motivated. our teams are super motivated They are, you know, they are compensated also through relative revenue growth. they are you know they are compensated also through relative revenue growth You heard me say that probably many times. you heard me say that probably many times I tell the team, "I don't care about macros, what matters is that you run faster than the others." That's how we've designed the incentives. i tell the team "i don't care about macros what matters is that you run faster than the others." that's how we've designed the incentives You know, we are in fragmented markets, we're able to grow through, you know, very active sales team, through a very strong value proposition across all these services that are very meaningful with our clients. you know we are in fragmented markets we're able to grow through you know very active sales team through a very strong value proposition across all these services that are very meaningful with our clients We're able to grow because we are more and more efficient in the way we serve our clients. I am, you know, I'm confident. Are we gonna have the same differential? I don't know. I can tell you we are, you know, we are on it. Volumes are trending very, very nicely so far. We're able to grow because we are more and more efficient in the way we serve our clients. we're able to grow because we are more and more efficient in the way we serve our clients I am, you know, I'm confident. i am you know i'm confident Are we gonna have the same differential? are we gonna have the same differential I don't know. i don't know I can tell you we are, you know, we are on it. i can tell you we are you know we are on it Volumes are trending very, very nicely so far. volumes are trending very very nicely so far

Speaker 11: Hello, James. On your APAC question, of course, we're very pleased with the results in APAC. I have to say that we are pleased both when we look at Adecco but also Akkodis. We see APAC, of course, as an engine of growth, and it is a profitable growth. If I think about Adecco, there are countries. I mean, our biggest country is Japan. It's growing profitably. The productivity is up. It's one of the areas where we are investing because we see more opportunities. It's also an area where we grow nicely, not just in flex, but also in outsourcing, and that's accretive for our margin. Hello, James. hello james On your APAC question, of course, we're very pleased with the results in APAC. on your apac question of course we're very pleased with the results in apac I have to say that we are pleased both when we look at Adecco but also Akkodis. i have to say that we are pleased both when we look at adecco but also akkodis We see APAC, of course, as an engine of growth, and it is a profitable growth. we see apac of course as an engine of growth and it is a profitable growth If I think about Adecco, there are countries. if i think about adecco there are countries I mean, our biggest country is Japan. i mean our biggest country is japan It's growing profitably. it's growing profitably The productivity is up. the productivity is up It's one of the areas where we are investing because we see more opportunities. it's one of the areas where we are investing because we see more opportunities It's also an area where we grow nicely, not just in flex, but also in outsourcing, and that's accretive for our margin. it's also an area where we grow nicely not just in flex but also in outsourcing and that's accretive for our margin When I think about Akkodis, also Japan is a growth story. The profit is also very nice. It's one of the countries that has the highest profitability within the Akkodis GBU. We're pleased. Yes, APAC is not just the growth, but it's a profitable growth story for sure for the group. When I think about Akkodis, also Japan is a growth story. when i think about akkodis also japan is a growth story The profit is also very nice. the profit is also very nice It's one of the countries that has the highest profitability within the Akkodis GBU. it's one of the countries that has the highest profitability within the akkodis gbu We're pleased. we're pleased Yes, APAC is not just the growth, but it's a profitable growth story for sure for the group. yes apac is not just the growth but it's a profitable growth story for sure for the group

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Virginia Montorsi with Bank of America. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Virginia Montorsi with Bank of America. your next question comes from the line of virginia montorsi with bank of america Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 12: Good morning. Thank you for taking my question. I just had an additional one on Akkodis. Could you help us understand a little bit more what you're seeing on aerospace and defense as opposed to autos as two very different end markets and how you're thinking about the end of the year? I know you've touched on this on the call, especially in A&D, it would be interesting to understand a bit more how you're thinking about the space. Thank you. Good morning. good morning Thank you for taking my question. thank you for taking my question I just had an additional one on Akkodis. i just had an additional one on akkodis Could you help us understand a little bit more what you're seeing on aerospace and defense as opposed to autos as two very different end markets and how you're thinking about the end of the year? could you help us understand a little bit more what you're seeing on aerospace and defense as opposed to autos as two very different end markets and how you're thinking about the end of the year I know you've touched on this on the call, especially in A&D, it would be interesting to understand a bit more how you're thinking about the space. i know you've touched on this on the call especially in a&d it would be interesting to understand a bit more how you're thinking about the space Thank you. thank you

Speaker 2: Thank you for your question. We are having great momentum in aerospace and defense. We have very good momentum in Adecco as well, by the way. We're growing high double digits in aerospace. You know, it's smaller volumes, of course, but we're having a good trend. In Akkodis, you know, as I said, we're growing 22%. It's across most of our geographies. And it's a mix of course, the investment that the defense, you know, sector is doing in many, many countries linked to the geopolitics. Also aerospace has a really great momentum. Akkodis is growing 22% in aerospace and defense. Thank you for your question. thank you for your question We are having great momentum in aerospace and defense. we are having great momentum in aerospace and defense We have very good momentum in Adecco as well, by the way. we have very good momentum in adecco as well by the way We're growing high double digits in aerospace. we're growing high double digits in aerospace You know, it's smaller volumes, of course, but we're having a good trend. you know it's smaller volumes of course but we're having a good trend In Akkodis, you know, as I said, we're growing 22%. in akkodis you know as i said we're growing 22% It's across most of our geographies. it's across most of our geographies And it's a mix of course, the investment that the defense, you know, sector is doing in many, many countries linked to the geopolitics. and it's a mix of course the investment that the defense you know sector is doing in many many countries linked to the geopolitics Also aerospace has a really great momentum. also aerospace has a really great momentum Akkodis is growing 22% in aerospace and defense. akkodis is growing 22% in aerospace and defense You know, I mentioned even in Germany, we're growing 26%, so that's really good. We're growing with all the major players, the Airbus, Thales, Safran, you know, of this world, Rheinmetall and Deutsche Aircraft. You know, all these big clients are, you know, asking us to support them. You know, in France, we are growing 13% in aerospace and defense as well. There's great momentum. We are doubling down on this sector. We are building capacity because there's a really a long tail of project that we have. We have great perspective, and we have extremely good positioning. The trust that our large clients have with us is really encouraging. You know, I mentioned even in Germany, we're growing 26%, so that's really good. you know i mentioned even in germany we're growing 26% so that's really good We're growing with all the major players, the Airbus, Thales, Safran, you know, of this world, Rheinmetall and Deutsche Aircraft. we're growing with all the major players the airbus thales safran you know of this world rheinmetall and deutsche aircraft You know, all these big clients are, you know, asking us to support them. you know all these big clients are you know asking us to support them You know, in France, we are growing 13% in aerospace and defense as well. you know in france we are growing 13% in aerospace and defense as well There's great momentum. there's great momentum We are doubling down on this sector. we are doubling down on this sector We are building capacity because there's a really a long tail of project that we have. we are building capacity because there's a really a long tail of project that we have We have great perspective, and we have extremely good positioning. we have great perspective and we have extremely good positioning The trust that our large clients have with us is really encouraging. the trust that our large clients have with us is really encouraging We are, I see that as a very, very positive, you know, supporting trend in the future. We are, I see that as a very, very positive, you know, supporting trend in the future. we are i see that as a very very positive you know supporting trend in the future

Speaker 12: Thank you very much. Very clear. Thank you very much. thank you very much Very clear. very clear

Speaker 5: Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. Your line is open. Your next question comes from the line of Simon Lechipre with Jefferies. your next question comes from the line of simon lechipre with jefferies Your line is open. your line is open

Speaker 8: Yes, a quick follow-up, please, on the debt refinancing. Can you give us a refresh on the maturity profile of your debt and any material refinancing coming up and what would be the implications for your interest cost for 2027? Should it go up from the EUR 80 million you are expecting for 2026? Thank you. Yes, a quick follow-up, please, on the debt refinancing. yes a quick follow-up please on the debt refinancing Can you give us a refresh on the maturity profile of your debt and any material refinancing coming up and what would be the implications for your interest cost for 2027? can you give us a refresh on the maturity profile of your debt and any material refinancing coming up and what would be the implications for your interest cost for 2027 Should it go up from the EUR 80 million you are expecting for 2026? should it go up from the eur 80 million you are expecting for 2026 Thank you. thank you

Speaker 11: Hello, Simon. No, the regarding from 68 and 25 to 80, mainly because of the hybrid bond that we've successfully issued in April. We were very pleased because the coupon was very well done by our group treasury team. In terms of profile of debt, we continue to repay. You would expect that not only, of course, we will repay the EUR 500 million hybrid bond in December 2026, but we'll also repay the CHF 100 million Swiss franc bonds that also matures this year. Sorry, gross debts continue to go down in line with our trajectory to delever. Hello, Simon. hello simon No, the regarding from 68 and 25 to 80, mainly because of the hybrid bond that we've successfully issued in April. no the regarding from 68 and 25 to 80 mainly because of the hybrid bond that we've successfully issued in april We were very pleased because the coupon was very well done by our group treasury team. we were very pleased because the coupon was very well done by our group treasury team In terms of profile of debt, we continue to repay. in terms of profile of debt we continue to repay You would expect that not only, of course, we will repay the EUR 500 million hybrid bond in December 2026, but we'll also repay the CHF 100 million Swiss franc bonds that also matures this year. you would expect that not only of course we will repay the eur 500 million hybrid bond in december 2026 but we'll also repay the chf 100 million swiss franc bonds that also matures this year Sorry, gross debts continue to go down in line with our trajectory to delever. sorry gross debts continue to go down in line with our trajectory to delever

Speaker 8: Thank you. Thank you. thank you

Speaker 5: Thank you. I would now like to turn the call over to Denis Machuel, CEO, for closing remarks. Thank you. thank you I would now like to turn the call over to Denis Machuel, CEO, for closing remarks. i would now like to turn the call over to denis machuel ceo for closing remarks

Speaker 2: Thank you very much to all of you who've attended the call. I, you know, as you could hear from what we said, we are very confident in the future. You know, since I joined years years ago, my agenda has been to grow the business in fragmented markets. Okay? This is what is ahead of us. We've proven for the past 15 quarters, we've outperformed and gained share 13 of them. As we have this healthy top line, this is driving absolute profit growth. 5% revenue growth, 24% EBITDA growth this quarter, 41% EPS growth this quarter. Okay? This is my agenda, and it's delivering. We have big opportunities ahead of us. I was mentioning aerospace and defense, where we're doubling down and investing in further capabilities. I am extremely confident in the future. Thank you very much to all of you who've attended the call. thank you very much to all of you who've attended the call I, you know, as you could hear from what we said, we are very confident in the future. i you know as you could hear from what we said we are very confident in the future You know, since I joined years years ago, my agenda has been to grow the business in fragmented markets. you know since i joined years years ago my agenda has been to grow the business in fragmented markets Okay? okay This is what is ahead of us. this is what is ahead of us We've proven for the past 15 quarters, we've outperformed and gained share 13 of them. we've proven for the past 15 quarters we've outperformed and gained share 13 of them As we have this healthy top line, this is driving absolute profit growth. 5% revenue growth, 24% EBITDA growth this quarter, 41% EPS growth this quarter. as we have this healthy top line this is driving absolute profit growth 5% revenue growth 24% ebitda growth this quarter 41% eps growth this quarter Okay? okay This is my agenda, and it's delivering. this is my agenda and it's delivering We have big opportunities ahead of us. we have big opportunities ahead of us I was mentioning aerospace and defense, where we're doubling down and investing in further capabilities. i was mentioning aerospace and defense where we're doubling down and investing in further capabilities I am extremely confident in the future. i am extremely confident in the future We have seen the volumes, nicely, you know, growing in early Q2. We are in a very good place for this year. Thank you very much for all your questions, and I look forward to, maybe more closer interactions in the, in the, in the weeks to come as we, do our roadshow. Have a great day. Thank you very much. We have seen the volumes, nicely, you know, growing in early Q2. we have seen the volumes nicely you know growing in early q2 We are in a very good place for this year. we are in a very good place for this year Thank you very much for all your questions, and I look forward to, maybe more closer interactions in the, in the, in the weeks to come as we, do our roadshow. thank you very much for all your questions and i look forward to maybe more closer interactions in the in the in the weeks to come as we do our roadshow Have a great day. have a great day Thank you very much. thank you very much

Speaker 5: Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. Thank you for joining. You may now disconnect. Ladies and gentlemen, that concludes today's call. ladies and gentlemen that concludes today's call Thank you for joining. thank you for joining You may now disconnect. you may now disconnect