FY25 Full Year Trading Update
FY25 net fees down 12% YoY to £322.7m, in line with £25m PBT guidance; US returned to growth.
vs expectations: in line
- Net fees £322.7m (prior £369.1m)
- PBT guidance FY25 £25m
- Net cash £68m (prior £70m)
- Contractor order book £157m
- Contract net fees £270.7m (prior £310.6m)
- Permanent net fees £52.0m (prior £58.5m)
Select text to share a quote on X · sign in to keep highlights & notes in your STEM notes
Encouraging new business activity
SThree plc ("SThree" or the "Group"), the global STEM workforce consultancy, today issues a trading update for the financial year ended 30 November 2025.
Full Year Highlights
| · | Group net fees down 12% YoY (2) reflecting a sequential quarter-on-quarter improvement in the rate of decline throughout the year, underpinned by the US returning to growth. |
| · | Contract (84% of net fees) down 12% YoY, whilst Permanent down 9% YoY. |
| · | Technology Improvement Programme (TIP) successfully delivered across all 11 markets, on time and within budget, providing a single platform that drives efficiency and positions the business for scalable growth. |
| · | Contractor order book (3) down 2% YoY to £157 million, continuing to represent sector-leading visibility with the equivalent of circa five months' net fees. |
| · | Strong balance sheet with net cash of £68 million at 30 November 2025 (30 November 2024: £70 million) after taking account of the £20 million share buyback completed earlier in the year. |
| · | FY25 efficiencies programme delivered net savings in line with plan. |
| · | Improved final quarter of new placement activity underpins reiteration of FY26 PBT guidance (4) . |
Timo Lehne, Chief Executive, commented:
"We are pleased to report a positive close to FY25, which is expected to be in line with guidance. As anticipated, we have not yet seen a widespread market recovery, however we have exited the year with a period of improving new placement activity, complemented by continued resilient extensions. Whilst navigating a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, we have focused this year on what is within our control: positioning the business to capture emerging pockets of growth - achieving growth in two of our top five countries - sharpening our proposition, and maintaining a disciplined focus on operational efficiency.
A milestone this year was the successful completion of our TIP rollout, delivered on time and within budget, and marking a seminal moment in the Group's evolution. This journey has not been without challenges, it has been bold and strategic. It is enabling our transformation into an agile, digitally-enabled STEM workforce consultancy that is efficient, scalable and ready to respond rapidly to new technologies. Whilst we look forward to sharing the details of key deliverables enabled by the TIP at our full-year results, we are pleased with the progress and initial impact it is delivering. With early signs of momentum and encouraging productivity improvement, we enter the new year in a stronger, more advanced position to drive long-term growth."
Business performance highlights
Navigating a prolonged soft market environment, the Group's net fees declined by 12% YoY. Contract net fees declined 12% YoY as softness in new placement activity earlier in the year outweighed the benefit of the more recent improvement and consistently resilient extensions. Contract performance in the US was a notable highlight, returning to growth this year, and helping to partially mitigate softer performances in both Germany and the Netherlands. Our Permanent business declined 9% YoY, which was an improvement on the rate of decline in the prior year, driven by growth in both the US and Japan.
Within our skill verticals, the Group's Engineering net fees were down 6% YoY, with the performance supported by strong demand in the US. Both Life Sciences and Technology saw declines of 13% and 18% YoY respectively, amid continued market uncertainty.
Among the Group's three largest markets, accounting for 72% of net fees, the USA returned to growth after two years of decline, underpinned by strong demand for skills in Energy and Finance. In Germany, performance was largely driven by demand for Technology skills. In the Netherlands, trading reflected softer demand for Engineering and Technology skills compared with strong prior-year comparators.
Group period-end headcount was down 18% from the end of the last financial year attributable to the careful management of natural churn, whilst being highly selective about where we choose to hire, and the realisation of further operational efficiencies.
The Group delivered a strong final quarter of cash collection, leaving the balance sheet in a robust position. An update on capital allocation, including the Board's intention to initiate a further share buyback programme, will be provided with the full-year results in January.
| FY | FY | FY 2025 | Q4 2025 | Q3 2025 | Q2 2025 | Q1 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net fees | 2025 | 2024 | YoY (2) | YoY (2) | YoY (2) | YoY (2) | YoY (2) |
| Contract | £270.7m | £310.6m | -12% | -9% | -13% | -13% | -15% |
| Permanent | £52.0m | £58.5m | -9% | -2% | -5% | -13% | -13% |
| GROUP | £322.7m | £369.1m | -12% | -8% | -12% | -13% | -15% |
| Regions | |||||||
| DACH (5) | £106.6m | £127.5m | -16% | -14% | -21% | -16% | -14% |
| Netherlands (incl. Spain) (6) | £62.3m | £78.5m | -21% | -12% | -31% | -24% | -16% |
| Rest of Europe (7) | £51.5m | £61.3m | -16% | -15% | -16% | -17% | -18% |
| USA | £83.2m | £82.0m | 4% | 8% | 17% | 0% | -9% |
| Middle East & Asia (8) | £19.2m | £19.7m | 2% | 7% | 22% | 9% | -26% |
| GROUP | £322.7m | £369.1m | -12% | -8% | -12% | -13% | -15% |
| Top five countries | |||||||
| Germany | £94.1m | £111.8m | -16% | -13% | -21% | -14% | -13% |
| Netherlands | £54.1m | £71.0m | -24% | -17% | -35% | -26% | -18% |
| UK | £27.7m | £38.3m | -27% | -26% | -27% | -27% | -30% |
| USA | £83.2m | £82.0m | 4% | 8% | 17% | 0% | -9% |
| Japan | £12.5m | £10.6m | 20% | 33% | 20% | 34% | -7% |
| ROW (9) | £51.1m | £55.4m | -8% | -7% | -1% | -13% | -12% |
| Group | £322.7m | £369.1m | -12% | -8% | -12% | -13% | -15% |
| Service mix | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | |||||
| Contract | 84% | 84% | |||||
| Permanent | 16% | 16% | |||||
| Skills mix | FY 2025 | FY 2024 | |||||
| Technology | 45% | 48% | |||||
| Life Sciences | 16% | 17% | |||||
| Engineering | 30% | 29% | |||||
| Other | 9% | 7% | |||||
- As guided on 12 December 2024, the Board expects FY25 profit before tax to be c.£25 million.
- All YoY growth rates expressed at constant currency.
- As guided on 16 September 2025, the Board expects FY26 profit before tax to be c.£10 million.
- DACH - Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
- Netherlands (incl. Spain) - Netherlands and Spain, which is managed from the Netherlands.
- Rest of Europe - UK, Belgium, France.
- Middle East & Asia - Japan and UAE.
- ROW - All other countries we operate in.
Analyst conference call
As announced in the FY25 Q1 Trading Update, SThree is now hosting analyst conference calls only in conjunction with its Q1 and Q3 Trading Updates, and Half Year and Full Year results.
Forward looking dates
The Group will present its results for the financial year ended 30 November 2025 on 27 January 2026.
| Alma Strategic Communications | +44 20 3405 0205 |
| Rebecca Sanders-Hewett Hilary Buchanan Sam Modlin Rose Docherty | SThree@almastrategic.com |
Outpace tomorrow, together
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.