Anexo Group report continued robust recovery

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Anexo Group plc (LON:ANX), the specialist integrated credit hire and legal services provider, has reported Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2021. The Board is pleased to report that the Group continued its robust recovery throughout the gradual lifting of the third lockdown. Anexo has continued to invest in its business and the Board is confident in the outcome for FY 2021.

Financial Highlights

	H1 2021	H1 2020	Movement
Revenue	£48.3 million	£36.6 million	+31.9%
Operating profit	£10.4 million	£7.5 million	+38.5%
Profit before tax	£8.9 million	£6.3 million	+40.5%
Net assets	£117.8 million	£103.9 million	+13.3%
Cash collection	£56.7 million	£48.0 million	+18.1%
Basic EPS	6.1 pence	4.5 pence	+35.6%

· Operating profit increased by 38.5 per cent to £10.4 million (H1 2020: £7.5 million) as a result of improved cash collections driving fee income into legal services and increased opportunities within credit hire

· Net cash inflow from operating activities of £1.5 million (H1 2020: net cash inflow £6.2 million)

· Overall net cash outflow of £6.8 million (H1 2020: net cash inflow £2.4 million), of which financing activities accounted for £7.0 million of cash outflow (H1 2020: net cash inflow from financing of £3.8 million)

· Proposed interim dividend of 0.5p per share (H1 2020: 0.5p per share)

· Net debt balance at 30 June 2021 stood at £44.4 million (30 June 2020: net debt of £27.1 million, 31 December 2020: £40.5 million)

· The Board expects H2 2021 underlying profit before tax to continue to improve as cash collections grow, the number of cases settled in court increases following the reopening of courts in May 2021 for face-to face-hearings, and vehicle numbers continue to reach record levels

Operational Highlights

· Anexo continued its strong performance throughout the third lockdown and the subsequent four-stage easing ending in June 2021

· Vehicle numbers have increased strongly as overall traffic volumes have continued to recover to normal levels

· The number of Group vehicles on the road currently stands at 2,023 as at 7 September 2021

· Case settlements continued to rise despite court hearings in H1 2021 being largely held remotely via telephone or video conference

· Recruitment of high-quality legal staff has continued within the Group’s legal services division

· The Group is engaged in negotiations with its existing finance providers for an increase in its current debt facilities, which will allow it to take advantage of the opportunities presented in both the credit hire and legal services divisions

Operational Highlights

KPIs	H1 2021	H1 2020	Movement
Number of vehicles on hire at the period end	1,740	1,380	+26.1%
Average number of vehicles on hire for the period	1,461	1,286	+13.6%
Completed vehicle hires	4,081	2,953	+38.2%
Number of hire cases settled	2,924	2,622	+11.5%
Cash collections from settled cases (£’000s)	56,665	47,961	+18.1%
Number of new cases funded	4,208	3,025	+39.1%
Legal staff employed at period end	578	450	+28.4%
Number of senior fee earners at period end	175	137	+27.8%
Average number of senior fee earners	164	134	+22.4%

Commenting on the Interim Results, Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman of Anexo Group plc, said:
“I am pleased to report that the Group has performed robustly during the first half of the year, notwithstanding the considerable challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Business activity in both our credit hire and legal services divisions have recovered strongly. We continue to put record numbers of vehicles on the road and to maximise cash collections by carefully managing hire periods and increasing the overall number of case settlements.
“The rise in vehicle demand and our continued focus on cash collections provide an excellent opportunity to further implement the Group’s fundamental growth strategy. Our existing finance providers have offered increased facilities, the details of which are currently being finalised. These will allow us to increase the deployment of our fleet and accelerate the number of new cases we take on, while enabling ongoing investment in high quality litigators; thereby ensuring we maintain the relationship between new business and settlement capacity which has been the focus of the Group since listing.
“Following the amicable cessation of exploratory takeover talks, DBAY Advisers Ltd retains a seat on the Board as a major supportive shareholder. We believe that our growth strategy offers the best possible opportunity to create significant value for all our shareholders. We remain committed to our stated dividend policy and we look to the future with confidence.”

Results Conference Call

An analyst conference call will be held at 09:30 BST today, 13 September 2021. Retail investors will also be able to listen to the call but will not be eligible to ask questions. A copy of the Interim Results presentation is available at the Group’s website: https://www.anexo-group.com/. Please contact Nick Dashwood Brown, Head of Investor Relations, at [email protected] if you would like to join the call.