RWS Holdings has announced a major shake-up at board level as the company reported a sharp fall in profit for the year ended 30th September 2025.
Chair Julie Southern and senior independent director David Clayton will both step down from the global AI solutions firm at the end of the year, ending a period in which Southern helped strengthen the board and transition the group to new executive leadership.聽
Clayton departs after 16 years across SDL and RWS.聽
Andrew Brode and Gordon Stuart will become interim chair and interim senior independent director while a search for a permanent chair is undertaken.
The changes come as the global AI solutions company posted a significant 43% drop in adjusted profit before tax, falling from 拢106.7 million to 拢60.4m.
Adjusted EBITDA fell 29% to 拢100.8m and revenue declined 4% to 拢690.1m.
Despite the downturn, RWS reported strong cash generation, with operational free cash flow rising to 拢80.1m and cash conversion reaching 126%.聽
Net debt increased slightly to 拢25.4m, partly due to 拢45.9m of dividend payments during the year.
It has been a year of change for the Berkshire-based company, which replaced Candida Davies with Stephen Lamb as its CFO in October.
Prior to that, in June, it acquired AI dubbing and synthetic speech platform Papercup after a staff exodus at Scale AI.
In 2025, it has seen its share price dip by over 50%, from 179.8p to 75.6p. Its market cap currently sits at just over 拢280m.聽
鈥淗aving joined the board at a pivotal time in the group’s development, RWS now has an exciting AI-led strategy in place, led by a new technology-focused CEO and supported by a strengthened board,鈥� said Southern.聽
鈥淲ith these firm foundations in place, it is a good time to hand the reins over to a new chair as RWS embarks on its next chapter.鈥�
Ben Faes, CEO of RWS, added: 鈥淔Y25 was a pivotal year for RWS, as we moved to become a technology-led AI solutions partner, trusted to power seamless operations for global enterprises.聽
鈥淥ur new strategy is a recalibration of our value proposition. We have unified our engineering power under a new chief product and technology officer and executed our first major brand re-positioning in two decades, to better reflect our proposition today and for the future.聽
鈥淏y placing technology at the core, we are now addressing the full AI value chain – exemplified by our acquisition of the IP of Papercup, which fast-tracks our capabilities in AI-generated dubbing and synthetic media.
鈥淥ur financial performance in the year reflected the challenges we face as our markets continue to evolve and it also validated our conviction that we can and must lead the shift in our industry.聽
鈥淲e have responded with decisive action, delivering material cost reductions in the second half and drawing us towards a leaner, faster operating model fit for a technology-led company.
鈥淲ith a Net Promoter Score of +46, trust remains the bedrock of our business. Our global presence, access to large, digitally-addressable markets and longstanding embedded relationships with our strong enterprise client base provide robust foundations.聽
鈥淲ith our proprietary technology and data, specialised expertise, integrated AI lifecycle solutions, and proven track record in transforming mission-critical content, RWS is uniquely positioned to grow on the back of AI advancements as the natural trusted partner for enterprises navigating the AI revolution.聽
鈥淎s we enter FY26, we do so with a scalable technology stack, a clear strategy and the energy to define the future of global understanding.鈥�
NCC swings from big loss to huge profit despite falling revenues