HUDSON HIGHLAND GROUP REPORTS 2009 THIRD QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS

MEDIA RELEASE PR36918

(Full text of statement. Contact details below.)

Hudson Highland Group Reports 2009 Third Quarter Financial Results

NEW YORK, Nov. 4 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --Hudson Highland Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: HHGP), one of the world's leading providers of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management solutions, today announced financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2009.

2009 Third Quarter Summary

- Revenue of $169.6 million, a decrease of 37.0 percent from $269.2 million for the third quarter of 2008, and a decrease of $4.2 million or 2.4 percent from the second quarter of 2009

- Gross margin of $64.2 million, or 37.8 percent of revenue, down 43.0 percent from $112.7 million, or 41.9 percent of revenue for the same period last year, and a decrease of $0.7 million or 1.1 percent from the second quarter of 2009

- Adjusted EBITDA* loss of $3.2 million, or 1.9 percent of revenue, down from adjusted EBITDA of positive $6.6 million for the third quarter of 2008, and an improvement from the adjusted EBITDA loss of $4.4 million in the second quarter of 2009

- EBITDA* loss of $6.1 million, down from EBITDA of positive $3.8 million for the same period in 2008

- Net loss from continuing operations of $7.6 million, or $0.29 per basic and diluted share, compared with net income from continuing operations of $0.4 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share, for he third quarter of 2008

- Net loss of $6.9 million, or $0.26 per basic and diluted share, compared with net loss of $0.3 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share, for the third quarter of 2008

*Adjusted EBITDA and EBITDA are defined in the segment tables at the end of this release.

"Sequential improvement of adjusted EBITDA during the third quarter was encouraging," said Jon Chait, Hudson Highland Group's chairman and chief executive officer. "This achievement was counter to typical third quarter seasonal softness and resulted from the company's earlier restructuring actions and increased sequential demand in some markets. While we expect the environment to remain challenging, I expect we will continue to deliver improved sequential financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 and into 2010."

"We continued to manage our cash well, ending the quarter with $44.5 million, as our Days Sales Outstanding decreased to 48 days," said Mary Jane Raymond, the company's executive vice president and chief financial officer.

"We used $2.8 million of cash during the third quarter, of which $1.7 million was used for an earn-out payment on our Tony Keith acquisition in China and $0.9 million was a repayment on our credit facility. Cash flow from operations showed significant improvement from the first half of the year with a net use under $1 million."

Restructuring Program

During the fourth quarter of 2009, the company expects to continue to streamline its operations in response to current economic conditions. The company recently increased the size of its 2009 restructuring plan to $19 million and expects to incur $2 - $5 million of restructuring charges during the fourth quarter of 2009. Third quarter restructuring expenses of $2.9 million were related to severance and lease terminations, primarily in Europe.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The company ended the third quarter of 2009 with $44.5 million in cash and $10.5 million currently borrowed under its primary credit facility, down from $47.2 million in cash at the end of the second quarter of 2009 with $11.3 million borrowed. In addition, the company has availability under its primary credit facility of $2.3 million, as well as an additional $3.8 million of availability under local country credit facilities, the majority of which became available subsequent to September 30, 2009. The company paid $1.7 million in July 2009 as part of its earn-out for the Tony Keith acquisition in China.

Guidance

Despite recent signs of increasing stability, visibility remains low. As a result, the company will not provide formal guidance for the fourth quarter of 2009. The company will comment on current trends and its outlook for the fourth quarter on its third quarter earnings call.

Additional Information

Additional information about the company's quarterly results can be found in the shareholder letter and the third quarter earnings slides in the investor information section of the company's Web site at www.hudson.com.

Conference Call/Webcast

Hudson Highland Group will conduct a conference call Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss this announcement. Individuals wishing to participate can join the conference call by dialing 1-800-374-1532 followed by the participant passcode 36219796 at 8:50 a.m. ET. For those outside the United States, please call 1-706-634-5594 followed by the participant passcode 36219796. Hudson Highland Group's quarterly conference call can also be accessed online through Yahoo! Finance at www.yahoo.com and the investor information section of the company's Web site at www.hudson.com.

The archived call will be available for two weeks by dialing 1-800-642-1687 followed by the participant passcode 36219796. For those outside the United States, the call will be available on 1-706-645-9291 followed by the participant passcode 36219796.

About Hudson Highland Group

Hudson Highland Group, Inc. is a leading provider of permanent recruitment, contract professionals and talent management services worldwide.

From single placements to total outsourced solutions, Hudson helps clients achieve greater organizational performance by assessing, recruiting, developing and engaging the best and brightest people for their businesses.

The company employs nearly 2,500 professionals serving clients and candidates in more than 20 countries. More information is available at www.hudson.com.

Contact: David F. Kirby

Hudson Highland Group

212-351-7216

david.kirby@hudson.com

SOURCE: Hudson Highland Group, Inc.

CONTACT: David F. Kirby of Hudson Highland Group,

+1-212-351-7216,

david.kirby@hudson.com

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