Work Service : Revenue Grew by 1/4

TheWork Service Group, the HR services leader in Central and Eastern Europe, reported a growth of sales revenue by nearly 25% YoY to PLN 592 million in Q1 2016. Its EBITDA was PLN 20,37 million, representing an increase of over 7%, and EBIT was PLN 16,67 million. The stable results were generated in spite of the impact of seasonality. According to growth plan presented in March 2016, the Group has announced to continue internal integration and to improve efficiency in the coming quarters.

The Work Service Group generated PLN 591,98 millions of sales revenue in Q1 2016, representing an increase of 24.75% year on year. The increase was mainly driven by solid organic growth by 16%. The Group's EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) was more than PLN 20 million (up by more than 7% YoY) and EBIT was PLN 16,67 million.

'The earnings generated in the first months of 2016 prove that our growth rate has remained strong at almost double the market average. This is a good prognostic for the rest of the year. In spite of investments in the structure, both domestically and internationally, we have increased our sales and the HR numbers of our clients. In FTE terms, we have helped more than 40 thousand people to find a job, which is 12% more,' said Maciej Witucki, President of the Management Board of Work Service S.A. 'Historically, our Q1 results demonstrate strong seasonality. EBIT in the first three months of previous years represented approximately 15% of annual earnings.On this assumption, determined implementation of our strategy suggests that the operating profit in 2016 will be stable year on year,' added Mr Witucki.

In March 2016, the Work Service Group published a growth plan which defines its strategic objectives by the end of Q2 2017. It provides for improved efficiency as well as synergies generated in the activity of the large Group with its business and geographic diversity. The plan included integration of Work Express and Work Service International. They now operate as Work Service Express responsible for cross-border job opportunities for Poles. The key internal processes put in place by the Management Board include the development of an efficiency improvement programme. It anticipates cost optimisation in the Group combined with further investments generating new orders. 'I am convinced that the expected increase of the financial efficiency of the Group will be visible at the end of the year. We will achieve that goal because of better integration both in Polish market, which remains the main market for us, and at the international level', said Maciej Witucki.

Strong position of the Group underpinned by successful companies

The Work Service Group has been growing through the successes of its companies. The Hungarian company Prohuman became the leader of the local temporary work market in 2015 and contributed the second biggest revenue in the Group at more than PLN 96 million in Q1 2016. The high-margin companies also reported strong improvement of revenue. The revenue of IT Kontrakt grew by 48% YoY and the revenue of Antal by 14% YoY. Exact Systems is launching its Chinese operation as the Group's first company to expand beyond Europe. Thanks to successful acquisitions, 45% of the Work Service Group's total revenue comes from foreign operations. This helps to diversify operational risk.

'Our key long-term objective is to be a top 5 European HR service provider. To do that, we need not only to respond to current trends but also make strategic forward-looking decisions. This is why we went public on the LSE earlier this year, welcoming international investors in order to grow the business of our companies. The two experienced managers who have recently joined the Management Board - Adam Pawłowicz and Piotr Gajek - will work together with Maciej Witucki to enhance the successful integration of the Group, positioning us for the next big step,' said Tomasz Misiak, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Work Service S.A.

Key financials of the Work Service S.A. Group for the period from 1 January 2016 to 31 March 2016 compared to Q1 2015:

Consolidated figures (in PLN 000s)	2016	2015	Change yoy
Revenues	591 983	474 541	+ 24,75%
EBITDA (operating result + depreciation)	20 387	19 035	+ 7,10%
Gross profit on sales	63 444	49 266	+ 28,77%
EBIT profit	16 677	16 315	+ 2,21%
Profit after tax	4 240	11 824	- 64,14%

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Work Service Group operates since 1999 and is the largest provider of comprehensive HR services on the Polish market. It operates throughout Poland through a network of branches and also in 16 other countries (Russia, Germany, Czech Republic, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and China). Its specialty areas include personnel consulting services as well as HR restructuring, recruitment and staff outsourcing. More than 3,000 companies have already chosen Work Service as their business partner. Every day, 50,000 people - and 300,000 candidates a year - find employment via companies belonging to the Work Service Group.

Media contact:

Krzysztof Inglot

Attorney of the Management Board, Press Spokesman

mobile: [phone]

e-mail: [e-mail]

Andrzej Kubisiak

Head of the Work Service Press Office

mobile: [phone]

e-mail: andrzej.kubisiak@workservice.p l