RWS AR 23 Final Single pages - Flipbook - Page 20
Chief Executive O昀케cer's Review (continued)
OPERATING REVIEW
Language Services
Client retention and satisfaction
remain high, several successful tender
processes and growth initiatives performing
well, o昀昀set by reduced activity
The Language Services division represented 45% of Group
revenues in the year (FY22: 46%). Revenues of £329.8m
were 3.6% lower year on year on a reported basis (FY22:
£342.1m) and saw a 7% decrease on an organic constant
currency basis.
We are proud that client retention and satisfaction
remained high and we were encouraged by positive
outcomes following tender processes with several of
our global technology clients, albeit we continued to see
reduced activity from some clients as they adjusted to
more challenging conditions in their own markets.
The Strategic Solutions Group continued to win new
clients in both the Major Accounts and GoGlobal
segments, including Norse Atlantic Airways, for whom we
have recently delivered multilingual booking websites and
online experiences across any device or channel, using a
combination of our language services expertise and our
Tridion solution.
In our Enterprise Internationalisation Group ("EIG"), which
serves global technology enterprises, we were encouraged
to have completed a three-year contract renewal for
one of our largest clients in the 昀椀rst half and, in the early
months of the second half, were pleased by the positive
outcomes of other tender processes. Clients within the
EIG consistently provide high NPS scores and ratings
(particularly in 'partnering' and 'delivering') and continue to
be delighted with the services and solutions we provide.
With regards to the division’s growth initiatives, eLearning
performed well throughout the year and we have seen
some success in cross-selling the solution to clients in the
Regulated Industries division. In February we launched
TrainAI, a refreshed proposition focused on the range of
data services that we have been providing to several of
our largest technology clients since 2016. This is focused
on helping organisations ensure that their own AI models
are trained with dependable and responsible data and
encompasses data collection, annotation and validation
services. The service is backed by a global community of
more than 100,000 annotators and linguists.
We have been encouraged by the market’s reception
to TrainAI and the sales and marketing drive which is
supporting the launch led to some wins early in the second
half. Four of our major clients have approved us to train
3 Adjusted operating pro昀椀t is stated before amortisation and impairment of acquired intangibles,
acquisition costs, share-based payments expense and exceptional items. See Note 4
20
RWS Holdings plc — Annual Report 2023
STRATEGIC REPORT
data for the next stage of their AI programmes, giving
a strong expectation of further momentum. These
programmes will provide us with strong references
amongst the data services buyer landscape and are
expected to lead to growth in this developing area.
We were also pleased to complete the beta launch of HAI,
a product within GoGlobal, which will enable clients with
ad-hoc translation requests to upload documentation for
rapid translation. We anticipate the full launch of HAI in
early 2024.
The division’s adjusted operating pro昀椀t 3 was £39.4m
(FY22: £53.3m) on a reported basis, re昀氀ecting the
reduction in top-line revenues and unfavourable language
and client mix, partially mitigated by e昀昀ective cost control.
Regulated Industries
Linguistic Validation growth
initiative performing well, reduced activity
among certain clients in life sciences,
while 昀椀nancial services experienced solid
revenues, largely driven by regulatory
changes
The Regulated Industries division accounted for 22% of
Group revenues in the year (FY22: 23%). Revenues of
£162.5m decreased by 6.1% year on year on a reported
basis (FY22: £173.0m) and decreased by 9% on an organic
constant currency basis.
Several life sciences clients continue to show softness due
to the impact of new legislation in the USA, such as the
In昀氀ation Reduction Act, on product pipelines and due to
delays at regulatory authorities; however, we expect volumes
to increase as bottlenecks resolve and as products move
through the regulatory approval process in due course.
Revenues were also impacted year-on-year by the loss of a
major Contract Research Organisation ("CRO") client.
In the Life Sciences vertical our focus on clinical
operations has brought positive progress. The continued
strength of our Linguistic Validation ("LV") proposition
supported our pivot to clinical work and has resulted
in multiple wins, including a signi昀椀cant programme
with a top 5 pharmaceutical company. Building on our
LV strength, we have introduced technology-enabled
solutions, such as our new electronic Certi昀椀cate of Display
Equivalence ("eCoDE”) Comparison tool. The eCoDE
tool will revolutionise the electronic Clinical Outcome
Assessment ("eCOA") screen review process using AI,
increasing accuracy and further reducing timelines for
eCOA projects.
