SimplyBiz Group (LON: SBIZ), the independent provider of compliance and business services to financial advisers and financial institutions in the UK, today announced its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2019.
Financial highlights:
· Group Revenue up 20% to £29.1m (H1 FY18: £24.2m)
· Operating profit up to £3.2m (H1 FY18: £1.3m)
· Adjusted EBITDA*1 up 30% to £6.8m (H1 FY18: £5.2m)
· Adjusted EBITDA*1 margin increased to 23.4% (H1 2018: 21.6%)
· Adjusted profit after tax*1 increased 41% to £4.9m
· Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) *1 increased by 8% to 5.52p
· Group net debt of £30.1m at 30 June 2019
· Interim dividend of 1.41p per share
Operational highlights:
· Acquisition and integration of Defaqto increases customer base to almost 6,000 intermediary firms and over 350 financial institutions
· Centra financial planning software surpasses 3,000 users, up from 2,300 at 31 December 2018
· Mortgage completions increased by 19% to £7.4bn in H1 2019
· Important contract wins in both divisions including Nucleus and Vanguard.
· Awarded Service Company of the Year by both Money Marketing and Professional Adviser
Matt Timmins, Joint CEO of The SimplyBiz Group plc, said:
“The Group has delivered a positive first half performance, and we are delighted to have completed the acquisition of Defaqto in March 2019. The integration of the business is progressing well and in line with management expectations.
“As well as delivering the acquisition of Defaqto, which has made a strong contribution to revenue and profit, we have continued to grow the organic*2 revenues and adjusted EBITDA of the Group, with increasing average revenues per member, an expanded membership base, and an enlarged service offering more than offsetting the impact of a slowdown in the housing market.
“The Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 1.41 pence per share in line with our dividend policy and remains confident of delivering against full year earnings expectations.
“I would like to thank everyone in the enlarged SimplyBiz team for their dedication in delivering a successful first half of 2019.”
*1 Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisition and operating exceptional costs. Adjusted profit before and profit after tax exclude operating exceptional costs, exceptional finance charges and amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisition. In the current year the measures have also been adjusted for the impact of adopting IFRS 16. A reconciliation of these metrics to GAAP measures is provided in note 5. Adjusted earnings per share is calculated based on adjusted profit after tax, as shown in note 11.
*2 Organic growth is defined as the year on year increase in a financial metric, excluding the impact of acquisitions.
