FAQs for Q4 FY2024

Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.

Q1. Please explain the guidance and outlook of each segment for FY2025.

Please refer to "2. Consolidated Financial Guidance for FY2025" on page 11 of the earnings release for Q4 FY2024. https://recruit-holdings.com/files/ir/library/upload/Recruit_202503Q4_earnings_en.pdf#guidance

Q2. Please provide an update on the share repurchases announced on February 28, 2025.

The Company's Board of Directors resolved on February 28, 2025 to conduct a share repurchase of its common stock.

The total number of shares to be repurchased was 52.0 million shares (maximum) (up to 3.51% of total number of shares issued and outstanding (excluding treasury stock)), and the total purchase price is 450.0 billion yen (maximum). The repurchase period is from March 3, 2025 to December 23, 2025.

Subsequently, the Company's Board of Directors resolved on April 25, 2025 to expand the limit of the share repurchase to 62.0 million shares (maximum) (up to 4.23% of total number of shares issued and outstanding (excluding treasury stock)).

As of April 30, 2025, 42.5 million shares have been repurchased at the total price of 340.6 billion yen on an execution date basis.

Please refer to the following.

"Recruit Holdings Announces Share Repurchases" released on February 28, 2025 https://recruit-holdings.com/en/newsroom/20250228_0001/

"Recruit Holdings Announces the Determination of Matters Related to the Repurchase of Own Shares (Expansion of Repurchase Limit)" released on April 25, 2025

https://recruit-holdings.com/en/newsroom/20250425_0001/

"Status of Share Repurchases" released on May 1, 2025 https://recruit-holdings.com/en/newsroom/20250501_0001/

Q3. Please explain the organizational change as of April 1, 2025.

The Company transferred all businesses in HR Solutions in Matching & Solutions including the job advertising business and the placement business to HR Technology as of April 1, 2025 in order to accelerate its Simplify Hiring strategy in Japan.

The job advertising business in HR Technology Japan consists of Indeed and Indeed PLUS which have a PPC (Pay-Per-Click) pricing model, and other job boards including Rikunabi Next and TownWORK which are linked to Indeed PLUS.

The major brands of the placement business are Recruit Agent and Recruit Direct Scout, which generate revenue by charging clients for the matching of job seekers and employers.

Also, Matching & Solutions will be renamed "Marketing Matching Technologies" in FY2025.



Q4. Please describe the labor market dynamics in the global HR Matching market during Q4.

On the surface, global job markets appeared largely steady throughout January to March in Q4, marked by continued low unemployment, limited layoff activity, and decent hiring demand. But signs emerged of slowing momentum in many advanced economies.

US

In the US, overall unemployment remained near historically low levels, job postings generally held steady (up 8% at the end of March compared to pre-pandemic levels), and layoff activity remained muted throughout the quarter. But a handful of indicators signaled more concerning trends during the quarter. Unemployment drifted upward from 4% in January to 4.2% in March. Both the quits rate and hires rate hovered well below pre-pandemic levels throughout the quarter, signaling a lack of confidence among job seekers and employers, respectively. Government hiring was a main driver of employment growth throughout 2024, but the large-scale reductions in the federal workforce that marked much of the first few months of the year began to show signs of trickling down into state and local government hiring. While initial unemployment claims remain low, continued claims are hovering near their highest levels since 2021 - a sign that it is taking many unemployed workers longer to find a new job. Consumer spending fell in January for the first time in almost two years, and did not rebound as strongly as expected in February, and both consumer sentiment and future inflation expectations deteriorated throughout the quarter.

Europe

In Europe, the economies in France, Germany and the UK all remain fairly weak overall. Despite a surprisingly strong GDP performance in February, the overall level of job postings in the UK remains far lower than peer nations (17.1% below the pre-pandemic baseline as of the end of March), and employer confidence is sour. In Germany, while hiring demand overall

remains comfortably above pre-pandemic levels (+21% as of March 31), job postings were lower at the end of March than at the start of the year in every industry tracked by Indeed. In France, the activity rate (the share of people aged 15-64 in employment or actively looking for work) fell to 74.4%, largely due to a slowdown in apprenticeships, which negatively impacts youth participation. Even so, despite weakness in these three headline European economies, overall business activity in the larger euro zone grew at its fastest pace in seven months in March on the back of a rebound in manufacturing activity.

Japan

In Japan, employer demand remains consistently strong. Historically, Japanese wage growth has been relatively rigid and muted, but has been driven up recently by a combination of factors including inflation-driven wage re-negotiations, government-led wage hike requests and other policy-related factors. This spring's annual wage negotiations between businesses and trade unions resulted in an agreed upon overall wage hike of 5.46%, and a wage hike of 5.09% for smaller businesses, both the highest such figures since the early 1990s.

Appendix Historical Results of Operations by Each Segment

FY2023

FY2024

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

FY

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

FY

Consolidated Operating Results (In billions of yen)

Revenue

850.8

855.1

866.7

843.7

3,416.4

901.5

897.1

896.9

861.7

3,557.4

YoY %

0.9%

(2.7)%

(1.5)%

1.9%

(0.4)%

6.0%

4.9%

3.5%

2.1%

4.1%

Adj. EBITDA

165.9

162.2

158.2

111.9

598.3

179.0

188.1

179.6

132.0

678.8

YoY %

8.9%

11.7%

14.4%

2.6%

9.8%

7.9%

16.0%

13.5%

17.9%

13.5%

Adj. EBITDA margin

19.5%

19.0%

18.3%

13.3%

17.5%

19.9%

21.0%

20.0%

15.3%

19.1%

HR Technology (In millions of USD)

US

Revenue

1,317

1,231

1,129

1,162

4,841

1,251

1,260

1,184

1,188

4,886

YoY %

(18.6)%

(23.5)%

(21.3)%

(13.1)%

(19.3)%

(5.0)%

2.4%

4.9%

2.2%

0.9%

Europe and Others

Revenue

437

428

390

401

1,659

422

443

424

425

1,716

YoY %

-

-

-

-

-

(3.5)%

3.5%

8.5%

6.1%

3.5%

Japan

Revenue

119

118

123

142

503

155

186

198

239

779

YoY %

-

-

-

-

-

29.3%

57.5%

61.2%

68.6%

54.8%

Total

Revenue

1,875

1,778

1,643

1,706

7,004

1,829

1,890

1,807

1,854

7,382

YoY %

(14.2)%

(18.2)%

(17.2)%

(10.1)%

(15.0)%

(2.5)%

6.3%

10.0%

8.7%

5.4%

HR Technology (In billions of yen)

US

Revenue

181.1

178.2

167.1

172.8

699.4

195.0

188.6

180.5

181.3

745.6

YoY %

(13.7)%

(20.0)%

(17.7)%

(2.3)%

(13.9)%

7.7%

5.9%

8.0%

4.9%

6.6%

Europe and Others

Revenue

60.2

61.9

57.7

59.6

239.6

65.8

66.4

64.6

64.9

261.9

YoY %

-

-

-

-

-

9.4%

7.2%

11.8%

8.9%

9.3%

Japan

Revenue

16.4

17.0

18.1

21.0

72.7

24.1

27.9

30.3

36.5

118.9

YoY %

-

-

-

-

-

46.5%

63.6%

66.9%

73.9%

63.5%

Revenue

257.9

257.2

243.0

253.5

1,011.8

285.1

283.0

275.4

282.8

1,126.5

YoY %

(9.1)%

(14.4)%

(13.4)%

0.9%

(9.3)%

10.6%

10.0%

13.3%

11.5%

11.3%

Total

Adj. EBITDA

98.1

92.1

80.7

73.3

344.3

100.2

107.0

98.9

97.7

404.1

YoY %

2.7%

1.0%

2.4%

(4.4)%

0.6%

2.2%

16.2%

22.6%

33.3%

17.3%

Adj. EBITDA

margin

38.1%

35.8%

33.2%

28.9%

34.0%

35.2%

37.8%

35.9%

34.6%

35.9%

Matching & Solutions (In billions of yen)

Revenue

80.8

74.1

73.1

76.8

305.0

74.8

69.5

63.2

67.7

275.3

YoY %

11.3%

5.5%

(0.8)%

(4.9)%

2.5%

(7.4)%

(6.2)%

(13.6)%

(11.9)%

(9.7)%

HR Solutions

Adj. EBITDA1

20.4

15.5

13.1

13.4

62.6

18.1

16.1

11.0

8.6

54.0

YoY %

24.2%

(0.9)%

8.4%

(33.2)%

(2.8)%

(11.2)%

4.3%

(16.4)%

(36.2)%

(13.8)%

Adj. EBITDA

margin1

25.3%

21.0%

18.0%

17.5%

20.5%

24.3%

23.3%

17.4%

12.7%

19.6%

Revenue

116.6

123.4

123.6

128.6

492.4

125.5

133.3

132.8

137.8

529.5

YoY %

11.2%

10.3%

7.1%

7.9%

9.0.%

7.7%

8.0%

7.4%

7.1%

7.5%

Marketing Solutions

Adj. EBITDA1

31.4

39.7

42.1

24.6

138.0

40.3

46.6

45.8

27.0

159.9

YoY %

(7.9)%

(3.0)%

7.7%

(23.8)%

(5.9)%

28.5%

17.3%

8.8%

9.6%

15.9%

Adj. EBITDA

margin1

26.9%

32.2%

34.1%

19.2%

28.0%

32.1%

35.0%

34.6%

19.6%

30.2%

Others and Eliminations

Revenue

2.5

2.5

2.6

2.6

10.3

2.5

2.7

2.6

3.1

11.0

YoY %

(14.7)%

(13.7)%

(1.0)%

(11.5)%

(10.4)%

0.9%

5.7%

(2.6)%

21.2%

6.3%

Adj. EBITDA

(9.3)

(9.0)

(8.8)

(9.7)

(37.0)

(6.7)

(6.5)

(6.6)

(7.9)

(27.9)

Revenue

199.9

200.1

199.5

208.1

807.8

202.9

205.5

198.7

208.7

816.0

YoY %

10.8%

8.1%

3.9%

2.5%

6.2%

1.5%

2.7%

(0.4)%

0.3%

1.0%

Total

Adj. EBITDA

42.5

46.2

46.4

28.4

163.6

51.7

56.2

50.2

27.6

185.9

YoY %

35.7%

65.5%

47.1%

50.2%

49.0%

21.7%

21.7%

8.1%

(2.6)%

13.6%

Adj. EBITDA

margin

21.3%

23.1%

23.3%

13.7%

20.3%

25.5%

27.4%

25.3%

13.3%

22.8%

Staffing (In billions of yen)

Japan

Revenue

186.1

184.0

193.4

187.9

751.6

200.2

197.4

208.4

199.0

805.1

YoY %

12.7%

10.9%

10.9%

5.3%

9.9%

7.6%

7.2%

7.8%

5.9%

7.1%

Europe, US, and Australia

Revenue

215.2

222.2

240.2

204.8

882.6

222.3

220.3

230.0

189.1

861.8

YoY %

(2.4)%

(5.1)%

(0.4)%

(0.1)%

(2.1)%

3.3%

(0.9)%

(4.2)%

(7.7)%

(2.4)%

Revenue

401.4

406.3

433.6

392.8

1,634.2

422.5

417.7

438.4

388.1

1,666.9

YoY %

4.1%

1.5%

4.3%

2.4%

3.1%

5.3%

2.8%

1.1%

(1.2)%

2.0%

Total

Adj. EBITDA

26.7

25.3

32.5

13.2

97.9

28.6

26.7

31.9

10.0

97.4

YoY %

(2.0)%

(9.2)%

9.2%

(22.9)%

(4.2)%

7.1%

5.6%

(1.9)%

(24.0)%

(0.5)%

Adj. EBITDA

margin

6.7%

6.2%

7.5%

3.4%

6.0%

6.8%

6.4%

7.3%

2.6%

5.8%

1Before allocation of corporate overhead costs.

Historical Consolidated and Staffing Constant Currency Revenue Results

FY2023

FY2024

(In billions of yen)

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Consolidated Operating Results

Reported

850.8

855.1

866.7

843.7

901.5

897.1

896.9

861.7

YoY %

0.9%

(2.7)%

(1.5)%

1.9%

6.0%

4.9%

3.5%

2.1%

Constant currency

825.1

828.3

840.4

794.2

843.3

877.2

881.7

854.6

YoY %

(2.1)%

(5.7)%

(4.5)%

(4.0)%

(0.9)%

2.6%

1.7%

1.3%

Staffing

Reported

401.4

406.3

433.6

392.8

422.5

417.7

438.4

388.1

YoY %

4.1%

1.5%

4.3%

2.4%

5.3%

2.8%

1.1%

(1.2)%

Constant currency

390.3

390.6

417.9

370.5

397.9

408.0

431.9

388.6

YoY %

1.2%

(2.4)%

0.6%

(3.4)%

(0.9)%

0.4%

(0.4)%

(1.1)%

Staffing Europe, US, and Australia

Reported

215.2

222.2

240.2

204.8

222.3

220.3

230.0

189.1

YoY %

(2.4)%

(5.1)%

(0.4)%

(0.1)%

3.3%

(0.9)%

(4.2)%

(7.7)%

Constant currency

204.1

206.5

224.5

182.5

197.7

210.6

223.5

189.5

YoY %

(7.4)%

(11.8)%

(6.9)%

(11.0)%

(8.1)%

(5.2)%

(7.0)%

(7.5)%

Historical HR Technology Constant Currency Revenue Results

FY2023

FY2024

(In millions of USD)

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Q1

Q2

Q3

Q4

Europe and Others

Reported

437

428

390

401

422

443

424

425

YoY %

-

-

-

-

(3.5)%

3.5%

8.5%

6.1%

Constant currency

-

-

-

-

428

441

425

439

YoY %

-

-

-

-

(2.1)%

3.0%

9.0%

9.6%

Total

Reported

1,875

1,778

1,643

1,706

1,829

1,890

1,807

1,854

YoY %

(14.2)%

(18.2)%

(17.2)%

(10.1)%

(2.5)%

6.3%

10.0%

8.7%

Constant currency

1,879

1,759

1,631

1,717

1,855

1,893

1,812

1,875

YoY %

(14.1)%

(19.1)%

(17.8)%

(9.5)%

(1.1)%

6.4%

10.3%

9.9%

Forward-Looking Statements

This document contains forward-looking statements, which reflect the Company's assumptions and outlook for the future and estimates based on information available to the Company and the Company's plans and expectations as of the date of this document or other date indicated. There can be no assurance that the relevant forecasts and other forward-looking statements will be achieved. Please note that significant differences between the forecasts and other forward-looking statements and actual results may arise due to various factors, including changes in economic conditions, changes in individual users' preferences and business clients' needs, competition, changes in the legal and regulatory environment, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, climate change or other changes in the natural environment, the occurrence of large-scale natural disasters, and other factors. Accordingly, readers are cautioned against placing undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements. The Company has no obligation to update or revise any information contained in this document based on any subsequent developments except as required by applicable law or stock exchange rules and regulations.

Third-Party Information

This document includes information derived from or based on third-party sources, including information about the markets in which the Company operates. These statements are based on statistics and other information from third-party sources as cited herein, and the Company has not independently verified and cannot assure the accuracy or completeness of any information derived from or based on third-party sources.

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Recruit Holdings Co. Ltd. published this content on May 07, 2025, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on May 30, 2025 at 09:00 UTC.