Trading Statement
Summary by AI BETAClose X
For immediate release 23 April 2026
RWS Holdings plc
Half Year Trading Statement
First half strategic progress and organic growth underpin full year expectations
RWS Holdings plc (AIM: RWS.L) ("RWS", "the Group"), a global AI solutions company empowering the world's most trusted enterprise AI, today provides an update on trading for the six months ended 31 March 2026 ("the first half"), ahead of the announcement of its half year results on 11 June 2026.
First half performance
Reported revenue is expected to be approximately £360m, a c.5% increase on prior year. Organic constant currency ("OCC")¹ revenue grew by c.7% in the period. In line with our strategic focus, our Generate and Protect segments are powering Group growth, while we pivot the Transform segment.
Generate delivered strong double-digit OCC¹ revenue growth, with an exceptional performance in the TrainAI business unit driven by additional programmes with existing clients and initial revenues from a new technology client. We expect this segment to sustain strong growth, as anticipated, in the second half. Transform's OCC¹ revenue declined, in line with our guidance, as we work towards pivoting the segment to technology-first solutions. It is positioned well for the second half with new clients. In Protect, we saw good OCC¹ revenue growth, driven by further strong performance in the Renewals business, as expected. Growing momentum in the second quarter gives us confidence for the second half of the year.
Adjusted profit before tax ("PBT") is expected to be approximately £24m (H1 FY25: £18m), supported by our on-going efficiency programme, and in line with our expected weighting of the Group's performance across the year. Cash generation continues to be strong. On 31 March 2026, the Group had net debt² of approximately £33m, after payment during the first half of the £17m final dividend for FY25.
Ben Faes, CEO of RWS, commented:
"The Group has made good progress during the first half, executing against the strategic priorities outlined at our full-year 2025 results. Our performance reflects the initial positive impacts of our new operating model and we have achieved important milestones across our three strategic pillars.
"In our first pillar, accelerating our go-to-market, our refreshed approach is yielding results. We have been successful in winning new clients across our three segments, including two significant new logos for our Train AI business, demonstrating clear market traction.
"In our second pillar, leading on innovation, we launched Language Weaver Pro, a key step in providing advanced AI translation solutions. We were delighted that our leadership in this field was recognised by Cohere, a leader in security-first enterprise AI and our strategic partner in building this new model for business-critical content. The development of our new platform for Transform is also on track, with a client-validated proof of concept achieved and work now underway on a minimum viable product. Furthermore, we secured two AI-based patents that support enhanced translation productivity, reinforcing our unique technology leadership.
"Finally, in our third pillar of improving efficiencies, we continue to rationalise processes, scale our offshore delivery centres and implement more optimised workflows across the organisation.
"These steps are the building blocks for delivering our vision to be the cultural intelligence layer for enterprise AI. Whilst we are conscious of the geopolitical environment, we remain laser-focused on the rigorous execution of our plan. Momentum continues to build, underpinning our expectations for a full year performance in line with guidance."
Language Weaver Pro
On 25 March RWS launched Language Weaver Pro, the largest dedicated translation model in production. Developed in partnership with Cohere, Language Weaver Pro ranked first in 31 of 32 languages in benchmarking tests, outperforming industry-leading AI translation tools - including DeepL and Gemini - across both sentence- and paragraph-level datasets in factual and more challenging marketing-related content,
Aidan Gomez, CEO and Co-founder of Cohere said, "RWS is pushing the boundaries of what's possible in enterprise translation. By building on Cohere's secure frontier AI technology, they can capture meaning, nuance, and context across languages in a way that reflects how people and businesses actually communicate. High-quality translation is essential infrastructure for global businesses operating across borders."
FY26 outlook
We expect FY26 performance to be in line with market expectations and existing guidance, with low single digit revenue growth on an OCC basis, improving profitability and continued strong free cash flow conversion.
Historic financial information for new reporting segments
As set out in June 2025, RWS moved to three new reporting segments with effect from the current financial year (Generate, Transform, Protect). RWS has published historical financial results for FY25 and FY24 for these reporting segments, which are available here. There is no change to the Group's historic results.
Notes:
¹ Adjusted to reflect a like-for-like comparison between reporting periods and assumes constant currency across both reporting periods.
² Net cash/net debt comprises cash and cash equivalents less loans but before deducting lease liabilities.
For further information, please contact:
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RWS Holdings plc Benjamin Faes, Chief Executive Officer Stephen Lamb, Chief Financial Officer |
01628 410100 |
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MHP (Financial PR advisor) Katie Hunt / Eleni Menikou |
07884 494112 |
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Deutsche Numis (Nomad & Joint Broker) Stuart Skinner / William Wickham
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020 7260 1000
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Berenberg (Joint Broker) Ben Wright / Toby Flaux / Mike Burke / Milo Bonser |
020 3207 7800 |
About RWS:
RWS is a global AI solutions company empowering the world's most trusted enterprise AI.
Our proprietary Cultural Intelligence Layer, powered by 250,000 data specialists, cultural and language experts and deep domain professionals, backed by 45+ patents, makes enterprise AI culturally fluent, contextually accurate and secure, ensuring every interaction reflects a brand's tone, context and customer values.
Through our Generate, Transform and Protect segments, we deliver intelligent content, enterprise knowledge, large-scale localisation and IP protection for global growth. Trusted by 80+ of the world's top 100 brands, RWS provides the confidence, governance and expertise organisations need to deploy AI safely, responsibly and at scale.
Headquartered in the UK, RWS is listed on AIM (RWS.L).
For further information, please visit: www.rws.com.
Click here for more information on Language Weaver Pro.
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