STM Group plc (LON:STM), the multi-jurisdictional financial services group, has provided its audited final results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2022.
Financial Highlights:
| 2022 (reported) | 2022 (adjusted)** | 2021 (reported) | 2021 (adjusted)** | |
| Revenue | £24.1m | £24.6m | £22.4m | £21.6m |
| Profit before other items* | £3.3m | £4.7m | £2.8m | £2.9m |
| Margin | 14% | 19% | 13% | 13% |
| Earnings per share^ | 1.42p | N/A | 2.94p | N/A |
| Cash at bank (net of borrowings) | £13.9m | N/A | £16.7m | N/A |
| Final dividend | 0.60p | N/A | 0.90p | N/A |
| Total dividend | 1.20p | N/A | 1.50p | N/A |
* Profit before other items is defined as revenue less operating expenses i.e. profit before taxation, finance income and costs, bargain purchase gain, goodwill impairment and gain on the call options
** Adjusted statistics are net of certain transactions which do not form part of the regular operations of the business as further detailed in Table 2 below
^ The decrease in EPS was largely as a result of having a tax credit of £0.5 million in 2021 as compared to a tax charge of £0.7 million in 2022
Operational Highlights:
· Recurring revenues remain predictable and a corner stone of the business representing 91% of reported revenues, building on the 2021 base
· All personal pension businesses (with the exclusion of the Mercer acquisition) now on one administration system
· Launch of the Malta occupational pension on a straight through processing technology
· Corporate pensions (auto-enrolment) effectively negates most of the financial impact of the “small pots” legislation by negotiating share of investment management fees
· Growth in the UK proposition as a key jurisdictional focus following integration of UK acquisitions
· Centralisation of the business development function driving increased “top line” growth – new Group Head of Business Development joined earlier in the year
· Analysis of value chain identifies further opportunities to generate revenue and profits, including interest sharing policy.
· Revitalised PLC board, as well as some changes at senior management level
Commenting on the results and prospects for STM, Alan Kentish, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“These results demonstrate the solid underlying performance of our business, in a market which continues to evolve and present opportunities for an independent such as STM.
“We are conscious that we have not yet realised our true potential, and are working towards a revised strategy to maximising the opportunities and to deliver shareholder value. Progress has been made in 2023 and we look forward to updating the market at the earliest opportunity.”
STM is a multi-jurisdictional financial services group which is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Group specialises in the delivery of a wide range of financial service products to professional intermediaries and the administration of assets for international clients in relation to retirement, estate and succession planning and wealth structuring.
Today, STM has operations in UK, Gibraltar, Malta and Spain. The Group is looking to expand through the development of additional products and services that its ever more sophisticated clients demand. STM has developed a specialist international pensions division which specialises in SIPPs, Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS), Qualifying non UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS). STM has two Gibraltar life assurance companies which provide life insurance bonds – wrappers in which a variety of investments, including investment funds, can be held.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
I am pleased to present to you the STM Group Plc (“STM”) results for the year ended 31 December 2022.
Having taken over the chair in September 2022, this is my inaugural chairman’s statement for STM within the financial statements.
I am pleased to say that the reported and underlying 2022 revenue and profit before tax are an improvement on the prior year, however, there continues to be much to do in relation to delivering the true potential of STM. The Plc board have proposed a final 2022 dividend of 0.60 pence (2021: 0.90 pence), having taken into account the impact of some exceptional costs in the first half year of 2023.
The recurring revenue base gives more predictability and certainty around underlying profits and allows for a solid foundation in which to grow our revenue streams, as well as allowing for us to significantly improve operating margins. Frustratingly, there continues to be too many non-recurring costs generally across the Group. However, these parameters in themselves indicate and the Board believes that there is embedded shareholder value within the group that is not reflected by the current market capitalisation of the Company.
STM Group is at a cross-roads in its evolution, and whilst it is fortunate to have a wide range of products and services it is important that we focus on those areas that have the potential to deliver a step-change in profitability. As part of this assessment of our next steps, the Group board initiated a strategic review in the first quarter of 2023, with the aid of external consultants. As announced in May 2023, the external advisor engagement is complete, and the Board have assessed the conclusions from it and have begun to refine the Group’s strategy. In particular, the review has identified areas of the business where we are likely to struggle to materially grow in revenue and profitability, but also areas with the potential for future growth following further investment. The Board is therefore considering whether we crystallise some of that embedded shareholder value from those areas of the businesses which may struggle to materially grow under the Group’s ownership.
The strategic review demonstrates that some of our competitors are significantly more profitable than ourselves in certain areas, and this in turn has initiated the natural next step of our strategic review into our use of technology and our current capabilities. There has been significant M&A activity in the UK pensions sector driven by technology and trading platform capabilities. The outcome of this technology review will inform our decisions of the areas to focus on to drive the Group’s future growth.
2023 will undoubtedly be a year of significant change for STM, as we look to re-shape the Group and conclude on some material items around how we operate. This will invariably lead to some further exceptional costs but having implemented some positive changes, such as our interest sharing policy, it is anticipated that we will achieve a solid 2023 performance when compared to 2022.
Finally, I would like to thank the various outgoing Plc directors for all their hard work during their tenure, and I welcome Peter Smith to the board. We are also in the process of recruiting Therese Neish’s replacement as CFO, and a further NED. I would like to thank Therese for once again joining the board on an interim basis so as to see us through the year end process, and I wish her every success for the future. In addition, my thanks go to all my STM colleagues for their hard work and commitment during the course of 2022 and into 2023.
I look forward to updating the market in due course.
Nigel Birrell
STM Group, Chairman
26 June 2023
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S STATEMENT
Introduction
Whilst we have made progress with the underlying business performance as compared to 2021, new business growth has not been at the speed or levels that I would have wanted or expected.
Recurring revenue, representing 92% of our revenue, remained the cornerstone of our profitability and continues to remain predictable and stable albeit with additional efficiencies around existing systems being slower to materialise than previously anticipated.
Our new business revenue for our pensions businesses, particularly in the UK SIPP market, whilst steady was below our previous expectations, with reliance being placed on a number of strategic partners that have not, as yet delivered new business in line with those previous expectations. Our UK personal pensions business saw organic growth of circa 9% in terms of new SIPP policies, but this was offset by similar levels of attrition. This general shortfall was somewhat compensated for by an uplift in new business in the Gibraltar based life assurance businesses, and in particular in relation to the short-term annuity product.
The acquisition of the SIPP and SSAS book from Mercer in September 2022 was however particularly pleasing. The portfolios were acquired at sensible multiples and add a solid and predictable revenue stream of circa £2.7 million for 2023 and beyond. The smooth transition from Mercer and integration into STM was achieved prior to the year end.
Our UK workplace pensions business continued to see double digit growth, with a 19% net uplift in terms of number of members. However, the change in legislation around charging ability for members with “small pots” had a more material impact than envisaged, reducing revenue generating capability by £0.6m.
In our international pensions businesses, our QROPS book remains stable but focus on growth has moved to alternative pension products. In this regard, I am pleased to confirm that by the end of 2022 we had launched our Malta international occupational scheme, which saw its first client commence in January of this year.
We also continue to see increased activity from intermediaries in the form of illustrations for our flexible annuity products issued from our Gibraltar life companies, albeit the lead time to receiving applications remains frustratingly slow.
Operationally, with the exception of the newly acquired Mercer business, we now have moved all our personal pension businesses on to our in-house “BOSS” administration system. This process has helped to align our thoughts as to the areas in our technology stack that we now need to address. The exercise has also helped us to appreciate that not all technology solutions need to be produced in-house, and that some of the functionalities available through third-party investment platforms would make our business more efficient. During 2022, we have continued to look at ways to centralise more of the Group’s business functions, so as to obtain additional efficiencies.
During 2022 and into 2023, there has been significant changes to the senior leadership team as well as the Plc board. These changes have included a new managing director for both the Malta and Gibraltar businesses, the redundancy of our dedicated acquisition resource, and the appointment of a new head of business development.
In addition, there has been a change of Chairman and of the independent non-executive directors at Plc level.
I would like to thank all of the above individuals for their contributions to STM over the years.
Financial Review
Financial performance in the year
The principal key performance indicators used by the Board to assess the financial performance of the Group are as per Table 1 below.
The Group reported revenues of £24.1 million (2021: £22.4 million) in the year with profit before other items and tax of £3.3 million (2021: £2.8 million). This £1.7m increase in revenue was largely due to the acquisition of the Mercer books which contributed £0.8 million of revenue in the year, and revenue growth in the life companies of £1.5 million. The sale of the corporate trustee service companies in 2021, which contributed £0.8 million of revenue that year, account for the balance in this movement. Pleasingly, recurring annual revenue, which is an important key performance indicator for the Board, has continued to be a significant portion (92%) of the total revenues achieved.
The Group shows both reported and adjusted financial key performance indicators in Table 1 and 2 below as historically the impact of non-recurring movements have not allowed for a clear understanding of operating performance.
Reported profit before tax (“PBT”) for the year amounted to £1.6 million (2021: £1.2 million) with adjusted PBT (defined on a consistent basis with adjusted revenue and profit before other items) for the year of £2.8 million (2021: £1.2 million).
The reported PBT is calculated after deducting net finance costs of £0.3 million (2021: £0.3 million), depreciation and amortisation of £1.6 million (2021: £1.5 million) and the bargain purchase gain on the acquisition of £0.3m (2021: £0.4m).
Reported profit after tax (“PAT”) is £0.9 million (2021: £1.7 million). The decrease compared to the prior year is largely due to a change in tax treatment in Malta in 2021 which resulted in a one-off £1.0 million tax rebate being recognised in that year.
Table 1
| KPI | Definition | 2022(reported) | 2021(reported) | 2022(adjusted) | 2021(adjusted) |
| Revenue (£’000s) | Income derived from the provision of services. | 24,094 | 22,355 | 24,599 | 21,581 |
| Recurring revenue (£’000s) | Revenue derived from annual management charges and/or contractual fixed fee agreements. | 22,219 | 20,427 | 22,219 | 20,427 |
| Profit before other items (£’000s) | Revenue less administrative expenses i.e. profit before finance income and costs, gain on disposal of subsidiary bargain purchase gain, goodwill impairment and gain on the call options and before taxation. | 3,321 | 2,823 | 4,686 | 2,948 |
| Profit before taxation (£’000s) | Revenue less administrative expenses and other items | 1,578 | 1,200 | 2,778 | 1,168 |
| Profit after taxation (£’000s) | Revenue less administrative expenses and other items less/add taxation charge/credit | 854 | 1,742 | 2,054 | 1,710 |
| Earnings per share (pence) | Profit after taxation attributable to shareholder of the Company divided by weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding | 1.42 | 2.94 | 3.44 | 2.89 |
| Profit margin before other items (%) | Profit before other items divided by revenue. | 14% | 13% | 19% | 14% |
Adjusted measures are net of non-recurring costs and other exceptional items that do not form part of the normal course of business.
Table 2
| Revenue | Profit before other items | Profit before tax | ||||
| 2022 | 2021 | 2022 | 2021 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| £’000s | £’000s | £’000s | £’000s | £’000s | £’000s | |
| Reported measure | 24,094 | 22,355 | 3,321 | 2,823 | 1,578 | 1,200 |
| Add: adjustment due to revenue recognition policy change on acquisition | 505 | – | 505 | – | 505 | – |
| Add: integration and acquisition cost | – | – | 390 | – | 390 | – |
| Less: effect of corporate trustee service companies disposal | – | (774) | – | (54) | – | (54) |
| Less: bargain purchase gain on acquisition and gain on call options | – | – | – | – | (327) | (406) |
| Less: loss/(gain) on disposal of companies and trust management | – | – | – | – | 162 | (219) |
| Less: movement in deferred consideration related to prior year acquisitions | – | – | – | – | – | (330) |
| Add: impairment of goodwill | – | – | – | – | – | 798 |
| Add: other non-recurring costs | – | – | 470 | 179 | 470 | 179 |
| Adjusted measure | 24,599 | 21,581 | 4,686 | 2,948 | 2,778 | 1,168 |
Tax Charge and Earnings per Share
The tax charge for the year was £0.7 million (2021: credit of £0.5 million). This is an effective tax rate of 46% which is higher than the rates noted in prior years, with the exception of 2021 which is considered an anomaly given the Malta tax rebate as noted above. This increased effective tax rate, which is also higher than the standard rates applicable across the various jurisdictions, is partly caused by some jurisdictions having tax losses brought forward or incurred in the current year but unrelieved which cannot be utilised by the profitable subsidiaries in other jurisdictions, as well as higher tax charge due to higher dividends remitted to the holding company by overseas subsidiaries.
Earnings per share (“EPS”) for 2022 was 1.42p compared to 2.94p for 2021. The decrease was largely as a result of having a tax charge of £0.7 million for this year as compared to a tax credit of £0.5 million in 2021. The 2021 EPS net of the Malta tax rebate of £1.0 million would have been 1.15p. There was no dilutive factor in 2022 or 2021.
Cashflows and Balance Sheet
Cash and cash equivalents amounted to £19.2 million as at 31 December 2022 (2021: £18.2 million) with net cash inflow from operating activities of £3.8 million for the year ended 31 December 2022 (2021: £nil movement).
During 2020 the Company signed a credit facility with Royal Bank of Scotland (International) Ltd for £5.5 million which was fully drawn down during the year ended 31 December 2022 for the purposes of the Mercer portfolio acquisition. The facility has a 5-year term with capital repayments structured over ten years and a final instalment to settle the outstanding balance in full at the end of the 5 year term. As at the year end the outstanding balance on the facility was £5.4 million (2021: £1.5 million).
Cash and cash equivalents, net of the above mentioned outstanding bank loan of £5.4 million, as at 31 December 2022 were £13.9 million (2021: £16.7 million).
As would be expected for a Group regulated in several jurisdictions, a significant proportion of this gross cash balance is required to underpin the regulatory capital and solvency requirements. The cash and cash equivalents required for solvency purposes varies as other, non-cash assets can be used to support the regulatory solvency requirement. The total regulatory capital requirement across the Group as at 31 December 2022 was £17.3 million (2021: £16.9 million).
As further disclosed in the notes to the financial statements, the Carey (Options) v Adams case came to a conclusion and was settled during the course of the year. Whilst the right to appeal the Court of Appeal’s decision of 1 April 2021 to the Supreme Court was rejected, the Group has received agreement for a judicial review on the Financial Ombudsmen Service’s decision on the basis that it impacts on a large number of claims and raises issues of general importance. Given the potential new developments which could arise from this judicial review, and the increasing uncertainty surrounding the potential liability of other claims, the Group considers that it is not practical to estimate the potential impact on likelihood, quantum, or timing of these. As such the provision has been reclassified as a contingent liability, along with the corresponding receivables due from insurers, and both have been derecognised as at 31 December 2022. The revised treatment had no impact on the consolidated net assets of the Group as previously reported.
The Call Option Agreements entered into in 2019 as part of the acquisition of Carey Administration Holdings Limited were exercisable in 2022. It is the Company’s policy to only hold wholly-owned subsidiaries and accordingly these Call Options were exercised during the year. As at the year end, the Options Corporate Pensions UK Limited acquisition was completed and the balance sheet no longer reflects this 20% non-controlling interest. The Options Personal Pensions UK LLP acquisition was completed shortly after the year end. The Group’s year-end balance sheet therefore reflected this remaining 30% non-controlling interest as well as a £0.4 million liability to settle the Option and acquire the remaining interest in this business.
The balance sheet also gives visibility of future revenue and cash generation and, in line with all administration services businesses, the Group had accrued income in the form of work performed for clients but not yet billed of £0.9 million as at the year-end (2021: £1.3 million). Additionally, deferred income (included within current liabilities in the statement of financial position) relating to annual fees invoiced but not yet earned stood at £3.8 million (2021: £3.6 million). Both these figures give good visibility of cash collections and, in the case of deferred income, revenue still to be earned through the Income Statement in the coming months.
Dividend
The Board is proposing a final dividend of 0.60p per ordinary share (2021: 0.90p) which recognises that there are a number of material operational and strategic matters that are yet to be concluded upon. This makes the total proposed dividend of 1.20p per ordinary share (2021: 1.50p).
Subject to approval at the Company’s Annual General Meeting to be held on 22 August 2023, the final dividend will be paid on 19 September 2023 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 1 September 2023. The ordinary shares will be marked ex dividend on 31 August 2023.
Operational Performance
Pensions
Our pension administration businesses continue to be the largest revenue stream for the Group accounting for 77% of total Group revenues (2021: 79%).
Total revenue across our pension businesses amounted to £18.5 million (2021: £17.6 million). As mentioned above, the Mercer acquisition contributed £0.8 million of this uplift, with the organic growth in the year compensating for natural attrition. In addition, recurring revenues for the pension businesses increased to 95% of total revenues (2021: 81%).
The administration of our QROPS products continues to be our largest revenue generator accounting for £9.4 million of revenue (2021: £9.7 million). As has been known for several years, this product is no longer a growth driver as a result of changes in the UK pension legislation in 2017. Whilst we continue to receive a small number of new members in Malta from EEA countries the attrition rate is modestly increasing as we see our member profile age and take advantage of flexi-access benefits. The administration is carried out in Malta and Gibraltar with the revenue split at 77% and 23% respectively (2021: 75% and 25% respectively). The change in split is largely as a result of higher attrition seen in Gibraltar compared to Malta which is as expected given that any growth in this product line is in Malta.
The SIPP businesses, both Options Personal Pensions and London & Colonial Services Limited, have contributed total revenues of £4.1 million (2021: £3.2 million), with the acquisition accounting for £0.7 million of this increase and the balance coming through from net organic growth.
The pension auto-enrolment business has generated revenue of £3.4 million (2021: £3.3 million).
The final revenue stream of the pensions divisions comes from the SSAS and third-party administration businesses. These contributed revenues of £1.6 million (2021: £1.5 million) in the year.
Life Assurance
The 2022 combined revenue figure for both life assurance companies was £5.0 million compared to £3.4 million for 2021. The reason for this significant increase is two-fold, an organic growth of £0.7 million on existing products and £0.8 million of revenue generated from the recently launched short-term annuity product.
Whilst there is a healthy pipeline of potential new business for these short-term annuities, which are highly profitable, they do have a long lead time. Consequently, judging the timing of receipt of such items for budgeting and forecasting purposes is not straightforward.
As previously advised our flexible annuity products are aimed at the UK markets and remain the key focus for organic growth within our life businesses.
Outlook
The latter part of 2022 and into 2023 has seen significant change in the make-up of our senior leadership team as we embark on the next phase of our change programme.
The focus for 2023 is to build our pipeline for new business revenues, both internationally and for the UK market. A key driver for success in this area is to ensure our technology is a business enabler, that compliments the hard work of our staff. As part of supporting this process, we have contracted a Head of Transformation who will oversee our IT function as well as our change programme.
The UK pensions market remains buoyant and there is significant consolidation activity in the sector, as PE-backed investment platforms seek to build AUM on their platforms. The result is a shrinking pool of independent pension providers such as STM. In addition, the Consumer Duty regime, introduced by the FCA in the UK and which comes into force on 31st July 2023, has also seen a levelling of the playing field with interest sharing policies becoming more normalised, again this typically favours the independent pension provider.
Under Nigel Birrell, the recently appointed charman of the board, we have started the process of reviewing and challenging our strategy for the next three to five years. This process, when completed, will enable the Group to focus its resources on developing businesses where the maximum growth opportunities exist and to deliver enhanced shareholder value. Progress has been made in 2023 and I look forward to updating the market in due course.
Following on from the above, and as a continuing theme of our ongoing strategic review it is recognised that the Board needs to demonstrate the ability for a tangible step change in operational efficiencies that will allow a higher proportion of the Group’s 90% plus recurring revenues to be retained as profits by the Group. A key part of that is to work with technology, be it internal or external, that takes away the majority of the processes that are currently performed manually. This technology review work stream has commenced, and the changes implemented following its conclusion will create the building blocks for a more profitable Group, not just from an efficiency point of view but also from a customer and intermediary journey.
Our technology review has identified opportunities to benefit more from the value chain through our customer’s journey, with regards to changing some of our policies and offerings. A good example would be the recently announced change to our interest sharing policy, to fall more in line with the rest of the UK pension market.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my STM colleagues for their continued hard work and professionalism in carrying out their duties.
I look forward to presenting our finalised strategy in the near future.
Alan Kentish
Chief Executive Officer
26 June 2023
