SD Worx continues growth strategy in the first half of 2026

SD Worx, the leading European provider of HR, Pay and Time solutions, reports solid financial results for the first half of 2026. Consolidated revenue rose by 4.6% to EUR 679.1 million, compared with EUR 649.0 million in the same period last year. Adjusted EBITDA grew by 6.8% to EUR 144.2 million, while the consolidated net result reached EUR 57.2 million (+2.5%). 

SD Worx continues to invest significantly in technology and AI, embedding an intelligence layer across its HR, Pay and Time offering to deliver tangible benefits for its customers. In the first half of the year, the company further accelerated the deployment and roll-out of AI-powered solutions, including a scaled multi-agent customer service solution designed to improve customer engagement and productivity. 

Growth in SD Worx People Solutions was supported by continued demand for HR, Pay and Time solutions. On a like-for-like basis, revenue reached EUR 569.4 million in the first half of this year, and adjusted EBITDA amounted to EUR 142.2 million. With its integrated offering, strong recurring revenue base, high customer retention and continued commercial momentum, SD Worx is well positioned to support customers in this evolving and challenging environment.

SD Worx Staffing & Career Solutions, the segment for flexible work, sees the market picking up again and performed well. Revenue grew by 7.3% to EUR 112.0 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased from EUR 0.1 million in the first half of 2025 to EUR 2.0 million in the first half of 2026.  

Confidence in long-term growth

Results per segment

The below tables related to the performance per segment are presented on a like-for-like basis. This adjusted basis of financial performance is used to analyse the true underlying organic growth. Reported performance is adjusted to include the full 6 months of financial performance of acquisitions made in both the current and the comparative period.

On a like-for-like basis, the consolidated adjusted EBITDA increased by 6.0% from EUR 136.0 million to EUR 144.2 million over the first six months of 2026. This represents an adjusted EBITDA margin of 21.2%, which is 0.5% higher than the comparative period.

SD Worx People Solutions

SD Worx People Solutions offers a comprehensive portfolio of solutions around HR, Payroll and Workforce management. 

On a like for like basis, SD Worx People Solutions delivered organic growth of 2.7% compared to the prior year period. This performance was primarily driven by an increase in recurring revenue, particularly within the Domestic and Workforce Management markets. Growth was further supported by continued new business generation and a sustained positive net retention rate, in addition to the impact of price indexation.

The revenue includes a commission income obtained under the customer fund cooperation agreement totaling € 18.4 million, compared to € 16.7 million last year. This commission income is correlated with the market deposit yields, the effects of which are partly offset by a hedging strategy aimed at smoothing out the variability of the short-term interest rates.

Net operating costs are primarily influenced by staffing expenses, which rose by € 6.0 million on a like-for-like basis. Indexation of salaries at the start of the year have a material impact on the level of these costs. The adjusted EBITDA margin improved on a like-for-like basis by 0.5 basis points to 25.1% year-over-year.

Inorganic growth in the current year through new acquisitions contributed € 3.9 million in reported revenue over 2026. These acquisitions included primarily Paie & RH Solutions (France) and Codeas (Italy).

SD Worx Staffing & Career Solutions

SD Worx Staffing & Career Solutions provides solutions around flexible staffing, temporary work, and related services. The segment operates in a challenging market environment which was marked by a persistent downward trend in recent years driven by macro-economic uncertainty.

Early signs of recovery observed in the Dutch market in the second half of the prior year continued into the first six months of the current year, supporting the € 7.7 million year on year revenue growth for the segment. This improvement was achieved despite ongoing challenging conditions in the Belgian market, where the decline persisted during the first months of the year, with early signs of improvement during the second quarter. The continued market pressure highlights the importance of disciplined and proactive cost management to protect profitability, resulting in a higher adjusted EBITDA, reaching € 2.0 million, compared to € 0.1 million during the same period last year.

Adjustments

Adjustments are applied to EBITDA for those income and expenses which the Group believes are not representative of the actual recurring performance of SD Worx. The total adjustment amounted to EUR 8.4 million, compared to EUR 10.5 million last year. The schedule below summarizes the adjustments made to EBITDA by type of adjustment.

Restructuring costs amount to EUR 4.9 million, and include initiatives to increase efficiency and accelerate the integration of digital and AI to further improve the offering and the customer experience.

Integration costs, reaching EUR 1.5 million, are at a lower level compared to last year. The comparative period had seen significant investment on the integration and rebranding track for F2A. More recent acquisitions from 2025 have been smaller in size, requiring less integration effort.

Acquisition and transaction costs relate amongst others to due diligence costs which the Group incurs in search of new acquisitions to strengthen its portfolio.

The expense for share-based payments relates to the non-committed, share based remuneration granted under the Group’s existing share plans for senior management. These plans qualify as equity settled, with the associated cost spread evenly over the three-year vesting period. In December 2025, certain participants were offered the opportunity to exchange their existing certificates for shares in Brouwersvliet. Following this transaction, the remaining cost associated with the affected awards was recognised in 2025, leading to a lower share-based payment expense in the first six months of 2026.

Depreciation and amortisation

A total depreciation, amortisation and impairment charge of EUR 54.7 million has been recorded as of 30 June 2026. Regular depreciation and amortisation charges recognised on the Group’s tangible and intangible assets increased by EUR 7.2 million. These relate largely to the software solutions developed internally, and the increase is driven by the Group’s continuing investment in digital solutions reaching EUR 30.2 million over the first six months of 2026. While the activation of internally developed software generally increases profitability during the period, it also results in higher amortisation charges in future periods.

Amortisation charges from PPA reach EUR 9.7 million and are not included in adjusted EBIT as they do not reflect the actual performance of the group. They are recognised on assets remeasured during business combinations, such as brand names and customer relationships.

Financial result

As of 30 June 2026, the Group reported a net financial result of € -8.3 million, primarily due to interest expenses on its debt facilities, including the €80.0 million subordinated bond issued in June 2019 and the Group’s term loan and revolving credit facility, both provided under the Facilities Agreement. The subordinated bond matured and was repaid in June 2026, eliminating the related interest expense going forward. This will be partly offset by higher interest costs on drawings under the revolving credit facility, of which €110.0 million was utilized at 30 June 2026.

Other financial charges relate to interest expenses on lease liabilities and non-operational foreign currency translation differences.

The total leverage of the Group remains conservative at a level of 1.5 adjusted EBITDA to net debt as per 30 June 2026.

Tax

The tax expense amounts to EUR 15.6 million as of 30 June 2026, which represents an effective tax rate of approximately 21.5%.

More details can be found in this report.