Mr. John Wallace reports

CALDWELL REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

The Caldwell Partners International Inc. today issued its financial results for the fiscal 2023 first quarter ended Nov. 30, 2022. All references to quarters or years are for the fiscal periods unless otherwise noted and all currency amounts are in Canadian dollars.

"We experienced a slowing in our business segments in the last quarter of our record-breaking fiscal 2022. That suppressed hiring environment has amplified throughout the first quarter of fiscal 2023, given our clients' growing concerns about rising inflation, interest rates and an impending recession," said John Wallace, chief executive officer.

"Consolidated revenue for the quarter was $23.9-million, representing a 38-per-cent decrease over the prior year. The reduced revenue streams, coupled with restructuring charges of $2.5-million, resulted in a $5.5-million operating loss for the quarter. Five million three hundred thousand dollars of the operating loss arose in our IQTalent business segment, whose clients -- largely technology and early-stage companies -- are among those hit hardest by the economic slowdown. The IQTalent leadership team took quick and decisive action in the first quarter to align costs to revenue levels, reducing staff and third party consultant head count, which resulted in severance restructuring costs of $2.3-million. Not included in this severance amount is $1.1-million of carrying costs incurred in September for these severed employees, who were underutilized. We are also exploring strategic alternatives for IQTalent's proprietary software platform, an investment that accounted for approximately $500,000 of SG&A costs during the first quarter. In total, the actions we have taken in the first quarter will result in the elimination of $3.7-million of go-forward quarterly costs. We continue to weigh pending client demand with current staffing levels and will be taking additional actions, as appropriate, to return the business to sustainable profitability."

Mr. Wallace continued: "Clients are broadly talking about beginning to increase hiring somewhat further into the calendar year, with the release of annual hiring plans and budgets. In the meantime, we are adjusting our cost structure to address the ongoing pressure on profitability in these challenging economic conditions. We remain focused on making investments for the long term. To that end, we expanded our Caldwell executive search partner and principal teams by five during the first quarter, an 11-per-cent increase to our partner count, which will build considerably on revenues as search volumes return.

"We are confident regarding the strength of our company, our team, our service offerings and our future. Our clients value our ability to provide seamless support for their talent acquisition needs at all levels and by continuing to diversify our mix of products and services, and identify opportunities to cross-collaborate between our two business segments, we expect to return to profitability by the third quarter of this fiscal year."

For a complete discussion of the quarterly financial results, including a detailed segment analysis, please see the company's management discussion and analysis, posted on SEDAR.

About The Caldwell Partners International Inc.

Caldwell Partners is a technology-powered talent acquisition firm specializing in recruitment at all levels. Through two distinct brands, Caldwell and IQTalent, the firm leverages the latest innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) to offer an integrated spectrum of services delivered by teams with deep knowledge in their respective areas. Services include candidate research and sourcing through to full recruitment at the professional, executive and board levels, as well as a suite of talent strategy and assessment tools that can help clients hire the right people, then manage and inspire them to achieve maximum business results.

Caldwell Partners' common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and trade on the OTCQX.

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