Highlights first quarter 2008
− Group organic revenue growth1) 7% per working day
− Operating expenses as percentage of revenue 16.8%, compared to 16.9% in Q1 2007
− EBITA2) of € 103.5 million, compared to guidance of at least € 100 million
− Continued organic growth across Europe (+8% per working day), significant growth in Asia, revenue in North America declined 3% organically per working day
− Good progress on Vedior acquisition; approval obtained from the European Commission and Randstad shareholders.

Outlook second quarter 2008
We expect continued moderate revenue growth for the Group. We expect EBITA, on a stand-alone basis, to equal at least the underlying level of € 130.9 million that was reached in Q2 2007 (excluding a positive one-off of € 4.2 million
in France in Q2 2007). This forecast excludes any contribution from Vedior and is also excluding related transaction or integration costs.
"In a market that shows slightly lower growth than last quarter in Europe, which continues to grow fast in Asia, but that remains weak in North America, we have again managed to improve our overall market share”, says Ben
Noteboom, CEO Randstad Holding. “Our people have shown great skill at making use of opportunities where these arise. An example is the recent opening of our 1,000th inhouse location. Amongst the intensive preparations for the
Vedior merger our people have not lost focus on running the business and serving our clients and candidates. When we look at the long term prospects of our markets, and the results of initial planning sessions with our new colleagues from the Vedior Group, we are well on our way to build a new joint company that will be able to shape the global world of work.”

In € million Q1 2008 Q1 2007 Change
Revenue 2,235.3 2,102.4 6%
EBITA 103.5 99.4 4%
Net income 73.3 71.5 3%
Diluted EPS3) (in €) 0.65 0.63 3%
1) Organic growth is measured excluding the impact of currency effects, acquisitions and disposals and transfers between segments
2) EBITA: operating profit before amortization acquisition-related intangible assets and impairment goodwill
3) Definition: diluted EPS before amortization acquisition-related intangible assets and impairment goodwill

Summary of Group financial performance
Revenue
Revenue totaled € 2,235.3 million in Q1 2008, up by 6% compared to Q1 2007. Organic growth amounted to 5%; net
acquisitions added 3% to the growth while currencies had a negative impact of 2%. Q1 2008 had on average
1 working day less than Q1 2007. Organic growth per working day was 7%, easing from 8% in January to 6% in March. We gained market share across our segments and in most markets. The highest growth rates were generated
in the segments inhouse services Europe and interim professionals, search & selection. Our fastest growing main European markets were Italy, France and Germany, while strong growth was achieved in China, India and Japan as
well.

In € million Q1 2008 Q1 2007 growth organic growth
Revenue 2,235.3 2,102.4 6% 5%
Gross profit 480.1 454.4 6% 6%
Operating expenses 376.6 355.0 6% 6%
EBITA 103.5 99.4 4% 4%
Amortization acquisition-related intangibles and
impairment goodwill 4.3 3.1 39%
Operating profit 99.2 96.3 3%
Net income 73.3 71.5 3%
Diluted EPS (in €) 0.65 0.63 3%
Gross margin 21.5% 21.6%
Operating expenses as % revenue 16.8% 16.9%
EBITA margin 4.6% 4.7%

Gross profit
In Q1 2008 the gross profit increased 6% to € 480.1 million, while the gross margin reached 21.5% compared to 21.6% in Q1 2007. In most European countries gross margins improved, stimulated by an effective pricing policy made
possible by the increasing scarcity of candidates, and also by mix effects, such as fee income constituting a larger part of the total business mix. Fee income amounted to 12% of gross profit for the Group as a whole compared to 10% in Q1 2007. Within Europe gross margin declined somewhat in Spain and Germany. In Spain market circumstances have become more challenging. Germany had two working days less than in Q1 2007, which had a negative impact on gross
margin. Underlying improvements in Germany were offset by lower gross margins at Teccon. A portfolio review at Teccon, including write-offs on two aerospace projects, had a negative impact on gross profit of about € 4 million. The
consolidation and rapid growth of our low gross margin Chinese outsourcing business (reported as associate in Q1 2007) had a negative effect on the average Group gross margin. Excluding Asia Group gross margin would have
increased by to 22.0%. Gross profit per average corporate FTE, which is one of our key performance indicators, increased by 1% in Q1 2008.

Operating expenses
We continued to invest in targeted areas and at the same time contained costs in areas with low or negative volume growth. In Q1 2008, the average number of corporate employees was 7% higher (+5% organic) than in Q1 2007,
while the number of outlets was 8% (+6% organic) higher. We employed on average 17,860 FTEs and operated from 2,957 outlets at the end of the quarter.
Operating expenses excluding amortization of acquisition-related intangibles and impairment goodwill grew by 6% (+6% organic), amounting to 16.8% of revenue in Q1 2008 compared to 16.9% in Q1 2007. Based on the tightened
cost and productivity monitoring, within the framework of our unit steering model, year over year growth in operating expenses was brought back in line with revenue and gross profit growth, a clear improvement versus the previous 2 quarters. This progress is most clearly visible in the sequential numbers. In Q1 2008 operating expenses were 1% lower than in Q4 2007, while the average number of FTEs was 3% lower than in Q4 2007.

EBITA
In Q1 2008 EBITA increased by 4% to € 103.5 million compared to € 99.4 million in Q1 2007. On an organic basis EBITA increased by 4%. The EBITA margin reached 4.6%, compared to 4.7% in Q1 2007. The lower number of
working days had a slightly negative impact on EBITA while operating leverage was exceptionally strong in Q1 2007 and Q2 2007, providing a challenging comparison base.

Net income
In Q1 2008, net income amounted to € 73.3 million, an improvement of 3% compared to Q1 2007. Net finance costs, including dividend on preferred shares, amounted to € 4.3 million in Q1 2008, compared to net financial income of € 0.3 million in Q1 2007. Net finance costs have increased mainly because of the acquisition of a 15.03% in the share capital of Vedior N.V. on the open market in December 2007, which also resulted in € 4.0 million share of profit of associates. In line with earlier guidance the effective tax rate amounted to 27%, compared to 26% in Q1 2007.

Cash flow and balance sheet
Cash flow was solid in Q1 2008. The moving average of DSO remained stable at 51 days. In total, net cash from operating activities amounted to 126.9 € million. Capital expenditure amounted to € 17.3 million, compared to € 12.7
million in Q1 2007. Free cash flow amounted to € 111.0 million, compared to € 91.7 million in Q1 2007.
In December 2007 € 478.9 million was spent on the acquisition of a 15.03% stake in Vedior N.V., partly financed with long-term debt, within our existing credit facility. This is the main reason why net debt amounted to € 40.5 million at the end of Q1 2008, compared to a net cash position of € 322.8 million at the end of Q1 2007.