23 March 2026

Certain information contained within this Announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 ("MAR") as applied in the United Kingdom. Upon publication of this Announcement, this information is now considered to be in the public domain.

RTC Group Plc

("RTC", "the Company" or "the Group")

Final results for the year ended 31 December 2025

RTC Group Plc (AIM: RTC) is pleased to announce its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

Highlights

·      Profit from operations maintained at £2.5m (2024: £2.5m)

·      EBITDA maintained at £3.3m (2024: £3.3m)

·      Group revenue from continuing operations £95.5m (2024: £96.8m)

·      Net cash inflow from operating activities increased to £5.2m (2024: £2.2m)

·      No term debt, and no borrowing other than lease liabilities

·      Cash and cash equivalents £3.9m (31 December 2024: £0.9m)

·      £1.6m cash paid out in dividends and to purchase own shares to enhance shareholder value

·      Net assets £8.2m (31 December 2024: £8.0m)

·      Net asset value per share (fully diluted) 65p (31 December 2024: 59p).

·      Fully diluted weighted average earnings per share 14.10p (2024: 13.01p).

·      There are no outstanding share options (31 December 2024: 5,000).

·      Interim dividend 1.21p per share paid (2024: 1.10p).

·      5.5p final dividend proposed (2024: 5.0p).

The Directors propose a final dividend for the year of 5.5p (2024: 5.0p) per share, subject to approval of shareholders at the Annual General Meeting on 27 May 2026.  If shareholders approve the recommended final dividend, it will be paid on 26 June 2026 to all holders of shares who are on the register of members at the close of business on 29 May 2026, with an ex-dividend date of 28 May 2026. If approved this will bring the total dividend paid out in respect of 2025 to £842,387 (6.71p per share).

Commenting on the results Andy Pendlebury, Chairman and Chief Executive said:

"I am delighted to report that despite a significantly challenging year for the UK economy, and particularly the recruitment sector, our Group delivered an extremely robust set of results in 2025. 

Against a background of rising costs driven mainly by the government's increase to Employers' National insurance (NI) contributions and increase in minimum wage levels, and subdued confidence across many sectors of the economy, we successfully equalled our record profit before tax in 2024 of £2.5m. This, given we had to absorb such a large increase in NI contributions is, I believe, an outstanding outcome for the Group and its shareholders. It is worth noting that on a constant cost (NI 2024) basis the Group would have delivered another record year of profit with an impressive 10% increase.  

Whilst global growth sentiment remains at its most fragile and emerging evidence suggests that the UK labour market is stagnating, we believe the strategic direction we have been following will provide the best chance of revenue protection for our shareholders. Our strong order book and strategic positioning in high spend infrastructure sectors afford us some visibility of future revenue streams and our commitment to cost optimisation is relentless right across the Group with non-revenue generating expenditure under constant scrutiny. The continuing impact of national insurance and minimum wage increases, combined with the ongoing implementation of the Employment Rights Act which brings with it further additional employment costs, cannot be avoided and will undoubtedly bring further uncertainties. 

 Therefore, given our year-on-year financial performance, real-term growth, strong balance sheet with no term debt, enhanced EPS, another year of proposed dividend growth (10%),  and a solid multi-sector order book with long-term revenue visibility, I believe that, notwithstanding the plethora of uncertainties facing both global and domestic economies, our Group is well positioned to continue capturing long-term business opportunities and enhanced value for our shareholders."

Enquiries:

About RTC

RTC Group Plc is an AIM listed recruitment business that focuses on white and blue-collar recruitment, providing temporary and permanent labour to a broad range of industries and customers in both domestic and international markets through its geographically defined operating divisions.

UK division

Through its Ganymede and ATA brands the Group provides a wide range of recruitment services to the following sectors in the UK:

•    Rail

•    Energy and utilities

•    Manufacturing and engineering

•    Water and environment

•    Transportation

•    Highways

•    Construction

Ganymede specialise in recruiting the best technical and engineering talent and providing complete workforce solutions to help build and maintain infrastructure and transportation for a wide range of UK and international clients. Ganymede is a market leader in providing a diverse range of people solutions to the rail, energy, construction, highways and transportation sectors. With offices strategically located across the country, Ganymede provides its clients with the benefit of a national network of skilled personnel combined with local expertise.

ATA Recruitment provide high-quality technical recruitment solutions to the manufacturing, engineering and technology sectors. Working as an engineering recruitment partner supporting businesses across the UK and Europe, ATA Recruitment has a strong track record of attracting and recruiting the best engineering talent for our clients. ATA's regional offices which are strategically located in Leicester and Leeds each have dedicated market-experts to ensure ATA delivers excellence to both our clients and candidates.

International division

Through its GSS brand the Group works with customers across the globe that are focused on delivering projects in a variety of engineering sectors. GSS has a track record of delivery in some of the world's most hostile locations. Working closely with its customers GSS provides contract and permanent staffing solutions on an international basis, providing key personnel into new projects and supporting ongoing large-scale project staffing needs. GSS typically recruit across a range of disciplines and skills from operators and supervisors, through to senior management level.

The Group headquarters are located at the Derby Conference Centre which also provides office accommodation for its operating divisions in addition to generating rental and conferencing income from space not utilised by the Group.

Chairman and Chief Executive's operational and strategic review

For the year ended 31 December 2025

Overview  

I am delighted to report that despite a significantly challenging year for the UK economy, and particularly the recruitment sector, our Group delivered an extremely robust set of results in 2025. 

Against a background of rising costs driven mainly by the government's increase to Employers' National insurance (NI) contributions and increase in minimum wage levels, and subdued confidence across many sectors of the economy, we successfully equalled our record profit before tax in 2024 of £2.5m. This, given we had to absorb such a large increase in NI contributions is, I believe, an outstanding outcome for the Group and its shareholders. It is worth noting that on a constant cost (NI 2024) basis the Group would have delivered another record year of profit with an impressive 10% increase.  

We continue to grow our balance sheet which, I am pleased to say, remains free of term debt, which places us on a very solid footing, and given the financial strength of our blue chip client base and our outstanding financial management controls we have ended the year with around £4m of net cash, a very reassuring position to be in given the potential headwinds facing the global economy. Additionally, and at a time when UK insolvency rates remain worryingly high, our exposure to trade debt is significantly mitigated through strong in-house debt management processes supported by payment default insurance.  

Furthermore, and without materially impacting the strength of our balance sheet, we have continued to grow our earnings per share (EPS) by over 8% primarily as a result of our share buy-back initiative which has seen us acquire over 2 million shares at a significant discount to the market, benefitting all shareholders, and we continue to press ahead with our proposed strategy of progressive dividends to further distribute cash to our shareholders.  

When compared to both our direct small cap peer group, and more broadly the UK listed recruitment sector in total, our performance across a wide range of key financial metrics demonstrates the strength of our business model which has been the bedrock of the strategic transformation I initiated when appointed Group CEO.  

What was solely a UK-based, provider of  permanent recruitment services to higher risk, small and medium size manufacturing organisations on a spot basis is now a long-term strategic partner of financially strong major blue chip and government based organisations,  for whom we deploy and manage large volumes of personnel across a broad spectrum of industries both within the UK and across a wide international footprint. Our business model now sees us firmly embedded alongside our major clients as programme partners where firstly, we guarantee continuity of supply for them on time and cost critical contracts; secondly, we invest in the growth and development of our workforce to ensure their long-term employability, and finally, we capture long-term revenue streams across our Group businesses which in turn builds confidence when attracting the very best employees to continually deliver consistent growth for our shareholders over the long-term.   

Our financial performance since initiating this strategic shift, which includes navigating a global financial crisis, a deep UK recession and the COVID pandemic, has delivered total shareholder return (TSR) in excess of 230% and despite a sluggish UK economy post-COVID, our TSR has delivered a 3-year and 5-year return of 555% and 86% respectively. It is this strong performance that will enable us to return over £2.4m in dividends to our shareholders in respect of the past 3 years with an average dividend yield of 7.4%.  

Underpinning this exceptional financial performance, and a key driver of our competitive strategy, is our contract order book, which is strong, growing, and provides the Group with a large degree of revenue resilience across our rail, energy, and international businesses. This in turn fuels our multiyear investment commitment in workforce training, which we remain committed to despite the large increase in employment related costs driven by government policy, as it continues to differentiate us in a crowded marketplace. Recent announcements of new contract awards and project extensions further demonstrate the continued success of our strategic transformation, and we are extremely confident that more awards across both existing and new sectors are on the horizon.  

Whilst our growth strategy in recent years has centred around capturing organic business with new and existing clients in established markets, we have a healthy ambition to accelerate our growth both within and across sectors and given the strength of our balance sheet we remain open to the prospect of targeted acquisition especially where there is a compelling argument that it would add further penetration across the strategic markets we are strongly positioned in. However, our first and foremost priority, especially in these uncertain times, is to protect the future of our Group for its shareholders and to this end we will not follow the myriad mistakes of the sector where many acquisitions have failed to deliver promised synergy or value-add, thereby inflicting at best, large scale devaluation of shareholder funds and at worst, total destruction of shareholder value. It is worth noting that our acquisition of RIG Energy, now Ganymede Energy, returns around 5 times its original contribution since acquisition and integration into the Group. 

Therefore, given our year-on-year financial performance, real-term growth, strong balance sheet with no term debt, enhanced EPS, another year of proposed dividend growth (10%),  and a solid multi-sector order book with long-term revenue visibility, I believe that, notwithstanding the plethora of uncertainties facing both global and domestic economies, our Group is well positioned to continue capturing long-term business opportunities and enhanced value for our shareholders.  

Finally, whilst it is too early to fully understand the implications of the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the consequences this could have on client demand, supply chains and operating costs, we will continue to monitor developments closely and, where necessary, take appropriate steps to mitigate any potential impact to our Group and its shareholders.  

UK Division  

In 2025, the UK division delivered another robust performance in a challenging economic and operating environment. Revenue increased to £89.0m (2024: £88.9m), while gross profit rose again to £16.0m (2024: £15.6m). This was achieved despite increased cost pressures, most notably the higher employment costs driven by changes to Employers' NI contributions and increases in minimum wage levels. The result reflects our continued focus on operational discipline, sound cost control, and exceptional service delivery across the business, further underlining the strength of our operating model and the quality of client relationships established across every level of the business. 

Throughout 2025, sentiment across the general UK recruitment market remained challenging, driven by continued economic uncertainty, creating an environment of cautious client behaviour ultimately leading to delayed hiring decisions. The permanent recruitment market in particular has experienced a sustained period of subdued demand, with many recruiters across multiple sectors facing prolonged declines. Following a particularly strong performance in 2024, our white-collar arms of ATA and Ganymede experienced a 14% like-for-like reduction in permanent recruitment activity during 2025, reflecting a softening in demand following a solid period of outperformance. However, activity remained broadly consistent with overall industry trends.  

Encouragingly, and as a direct consequence of our refined business model, we were able to offset this by improved demand for contract and temporary staff across these businesses, resulting in a 9% year-on-year growth in both revenue and gross profit. This shift both demonstrates our ability to adapt our product offering to capture client revenue as demand shifts from traditional permanent recruitment to utilisation of more flexible workforce solutions in this uncertain climate, and our ability to adapt within short timescales to changing market dynamics.  Our continued track record of attracting, developing and retaining skilled people has been central to maintaining quality of service for our clients regardless of what route they choose in order to deploy additional personnel to meet their changing business dynamics.

Demand across infrastructure, manufacturing and transportation remained comparatively resilient, and this also helped compensate activity levels across our white-collar Ganymede and ATA brands, further substantiating the diversified portfolio approach which lies at the heart of our business model. 

Despite the ongoing operational and regulatory challenges within the UK metering market, Ganymede Energy delivered another strong year of incremental growth in 2025, successfully building on the progress of recent years. Based on the latest official data more than 40 million smart and advanced meters have now been installed across homes and small businesses in Great Britain. Following the conclusion of the smart meter rollout mandate at the end of 2025, installation activity is expected to continue under the post 2025 policy framework, with Government proposals aimed at completing the rollout by the end of the decade. As a result, Industry focus is increasingly shifting towards the ongoing performance and health of previously installed meters, which is expected to generate significant activity alongside the continued installation of new or replacement meters as required. Other key areas of activity include the continued upgrade of first generation SMETS1 meters, to address the impact of the 2G and 3G mobile network switch off, and the ongoing replacement of legacy Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) meters. Together, these programmes present a long-term and sustained order book of work across the metering industry alongside other wider opportunities arising from the continued transformation of the UK's energy infrastructure. 

Taken across the wider industry picture, our Rail division performed well during 2025, demonstrating continued resilience in a challenging rail market and maintaining consistent delivery across its core operations of maintenance and renewals. Activity across Control Period 7 (CP7) has continued to progress more slowly than originally anticipated, particularly within enhancements, reflecting well publicised budgetary constraints and affordability pressures faced by Network Rail. Despite this spending hiatus, performance was underpinned by robust revenue generation across maintenance and renewals activities and the strength of our long-standing relationships with our rail clients many holding prime contractor status with Network Rail. Whilst as mentioned, activity levels across CP7 have remained below initial expectations, we anticipate, as in previous control periods, conditions to become more favourable as CP7 progresses. Alongside this solid operational performance, the division has also continued to secure other new work with existing clients and also expand its client base, strengthening its forward pipeline of opportunities and positioning the business to benefit as government spend on rail projects materialises over the remainder of CP7 and into the next control period. 

Finally, activity within the water sector, which is a fast-growing opportunity for Ganymede, increased during the year, following the commencement of Asset Management Plan8 (AMP8) (April 2025 to March 2030) which has seen a significant uplift in recruitment requirements. With industry wide investment expected to exceed £100 billion, AMP8 represents a significant and sustainable growth opportunity over the coming years. 

In terms of capital investment, 2025 saw the business complete the replacement and consolidation of our front-end recruitment systems into a single, cloud-based platform, enhancing efficiency, strengthening compliance and improving reporting capabilities. This investment represents a significant milestone in the modernisation of our recruitment operations and provides a strong platform to support future growth. 

In summary, despite a challenging economic and operational environment, the UK division delivered a very strong performance in 2025, achieving further order book growth with existing clients and securing new client opportunities across multiple sectors. Gross profit grew and ongoing demand across our core sectors gives every reason to suggest a positive forward outlook demonstrating the effectiveness of both our Group strategic focus and subsidiary capability and agility. Looking ahead, we see meaningful growth arising from the ongoing evolution of smart metering and wider changes across the UK energy system, and long-term infrastructure investment across the rail and water sectors through CP7, AMP8 and future control periods. While we remain acutely aware of ongoing challenges, including higher employment costs, forthcoming changes to employment legislation and cautious market sentiment, our strong market position, long-term contracts and continued investment in technology and people leave us well placed to navigate these headwinds and continue delivering long-term value for our clients, employees and shareholders. 

International division - Global Staffing Solutions (GSS) 

Our international business experienced a reduction in revenue in 2025 primarily because the charter flight solution for getting workers to a remote key client location in 2024 was not repeated in 2025, but also as client demand reflected a reduction in activity as a range of long-term support contracts came to a natural conclusion. Despite this, the business still delivered a healthy contribution to Group gross profit. 

During the year GSS secured a new and potentially long-term support contract in Poland for over 70 personnel which, due to a natural lag in project implementation, was commissioned towards the end of the year with a full revenue run rate expected during 2026. The business continues to support clients with personnel deployed across multiple locations including Poland, Iraq, Somalia, and Diego Garcia and GSS has a healthy pipeline of new business opportunities in support of both direct NATO projects and support contracts with UK and USA governments. However, increasing cost pressures and changing macro-economic policies are driving governments to secure enhanced project delivery for significantly less financial exposure. This in turn is driving a landscape of wholescale project evaluations and competitive tendering exercises and, whilst this carries the risk of potential delays to contract awards, it also brings new opportunities for GSS as major international suppliers seek outsourcing solutions to help increase their competitiveness.     

Central Services 

Our conference centre (DCC), which has yet again firmly established itself as a favourite venue for conferencing and events in the East Midlands region, had a very good year despite the most difficult of trading environments brought on by the government's decision to increase national insurance and the national minimum wage. These additional costs have, where possible, been absorbed by the DCC and this has resulted in a slight reduction in gross profit. However, we believe this decision will be received positively by our client base and whilst we cannot avoid the difficult position the UK hospitality sector has had enforced on it, we remain hopeful that our high levels of service, popular location and customer retention level will help distinguish us from our competition.  

RTC is headquartered at the DCC and Investments in our various Group-wide technology systems are ongoing and will continue to ensure that we future proof the quality and security of data across all aspects of our business. Furthermore, we are committed to enhancing the effectiveness of our customer and candidate relationship management platforms to enable stronger integration and productivity of revenue generating data.  

Outlook 

Whilst global growth sentiment remains at its most fragile and emerging evidence suggests that the UK labour market is stagnating, we believe the strategic direction we have been following will provide the best chance of revenue protection for our shareholders. Our strong order book and strategic positioning in high spend infrastructure sectors afford us some visibility of future revenue streams and our commitment to cost optimisation is relentless right across the Group with non-revenue generating expenditure under constant scrutiny. The continuing impact of national insurance and minimum wage increases, combined with the ongoing implementation of the Employment Rights Act which brings with it further additional employment costs, cannot be avoided and will undoubtedly bring further uncertainties.   

However, despite these challenging market conditions, 2026 has started positively and the underlying drivers of demand, especially across our infrastructure focused business, remain strong. We have an experienced Board of directors and together with our subsidiary management teams, many of whom have been with the Group for over 20 years, we have the collective capability to achieve significant long-term growth as the UK prepares to invest over £700bn in wide ranging multi sector infrastructure programmes.  

Finally, whilst there are naturally many reasons for us to be concerned about current geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions, we believe that despite current market uncertainty there is every reason for us to remain positive about the long-term prospects for RTC and its shareholders. 

Our people 

Our operational and financial performance is a direct result of the outstanding people we employ across the Group. Within each of our operating businesses, support functions and Group headquarters, our employees have worked tirelessly to help RTC build uniqueness across everything we do. It is our belief that because of this commitment to hard work and accountability, RTC can differentiate itself in a very crowded marketplace.   

I would therefore like to extend a huge thank you on behalf of the board of directors to everybody across the Group. 

A M Pendlebury                                                                                                                                    20 March 2026

Chairman and Chief Executive