25 July 2024
JTC
PLC
(the
"Company" and together with its
subsidiaries "JTC" or
the "Group")
Pre-close
Interim Trading Update
Positive
start to the 'Cosmos era' with record H1 new business wins and four
announced acquisitions
JTC, the global professional
services business, today issues the following trading update in
advance of its interim results for the period ended 30 June
2024.
The Group has made a positive start
to 2024, the first year of its Cosmos era business plan, during
which it aims to once again double revenue and underlying EBITDA
from that reported in 2023. The business has quadrupled in size
since IPO in 2018 through the successful delivery of its Odyssey
era (2018 to 2020) and Galaxy era (2021 to 2023) business
plans.
Net organic revenue growth in H1
2024 was ahead of the Company's updated guidance of 10%+ per annum,
with record H1 new business wins of £18.8m, up 28.8% on the same
period last year (H1 2023: £14.6m). The new business enquiry
pipeline going into H2 remains strong across both Divisions, with
win rates of c. 50%.
During the period, the Group has
delivered against its well-established guidance metrics for
underlying EBITDA margin (33% - 38%) and leverage (1.5x - 2.0x
underlying EBITDA). Cash conversion was strong, in line with levels
typically seen in the first half of the year, and the Company
expects to achieve its guidance range of 85% to 90% for the full
year. As a result, the Board expects the Company to deliver
full year 2024 results in line with market
expectations.[1]
M&A activity during the period
included the completion or announcement of four
acquisitions:
· Blackheath - ICS Division
London, UK, completed in
March.
· First
Republic Trust Company - PCS Division
Delaware, USA, announced in April,
completion expected within the coming weeks.
· FFP -
ICS Division
Cayman, BVI and Dubai, announced in
June, completion expected in Q4. FFP is a strategically important
acquisition for the Group as it directly supports the development
of its new Governance Services business line, a further innovation
from the Group Commercial Office.
· Hanway
- ICS Division
London, UK, completed in
July.
These transactions are being funded
by a combination of existing cash and JTC's debt facilities, which
were increased in 2023 to support delivery of the Cosmos business
plan. SDTC, the PCS Division platform business acquired in the USA
in 2023, continues to integrate well into the Group and performed
strongly in the period. The Company continues to maintain a
well-developed pipeline of acquisition opportunities spanning both
Divisions and all target growth markets.
In addition, as a result of the
successful delivery of its Galaxy era business plan, the Company
has today granted a total of 4,748,909 awards over ordinary shares
of £0.01 each in the Company, amounting to c.£50m in value, to all
eligible current permanent Group employees, excluding the Executive
Directors, under the Employee Incentive Plan (the "EIP"). These
awards follow the same process as the grants made in 2021 which
marked the successful completion of the Odyssey era
plan.
Shared ownership has been a
cornerstone of JTC's culture, financial success, industry-leading
employee retention and attractiveness as an acquiror for the past
26 years, dating back to the establishment of the first JTC
Employee Benefit Trust in 1998, making all employees 'owners' of
the business. The EIP, following in the footsteps of its
predecessor schemes, aims to recognise and reward long-term
performance throughout the entire Group. This alignment of
employees' and shareholders' interests is closely tied to the
Company's multi-year business plans, which it refers to as
eras. The Galaxy
era EIP Awards will be satisfied by the transfer of existing
Ordinary Shares held by JTC PLC Employee Benefit Trust (the "EBT")
to each participant. As such, this granting of shares under the EIP
is non-dilutive to the existing shareholders of the
Group.
Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC PLC,
said:
"The Group has made a very good
start to the Cosmos era, building on the momentum of our
outstanding results from 2023. Organic growth remains above our
updated guidance with record new business wins. We are extremely
pleased with the acquisitions made during the period, which support
our strategy to increase our footprint in key growth markets and
expand our service offering to better meet the needs of our global
client base, therefore supporting long-term organic
growth.
I am delighted that the hard work
and commitment to client service excellence of our people has
resulted in a shared ownership award for all our c. 1,800
employee-owners globally, in recognition of their successful
delivery of our Galaxy era business plan, in which they doubled the
size of the Group in just three years. Our commitment to shared
ownership aligns the interests of our people, our wider shareholder
base, our clients and other stakeholders and has already energised
the business in this first year of our Cosmos era."
The Company will announce its
interim results for the period ended 30 June 2024 on Tuesday 17
September 2024. An analyst briefing will be given by Nigel Le
Quesne, Chief Executive Officer, and Martin Fotheringham, Chief
Financial Officer, at 09:30 BST via video / audio
conference.
Enquiries:
JTC
PLC
+44 (0) 1534 700 000
Nigel Le Quesne, Chief Executive
Officer
Martin Fotheringham, Chief Financial
Officer
David Vieira, Chief Communications
Officer
Camarco +44
(0) 20 3757 4980
Geoffrey
Pelham-Lane
Sam Morris
About JTC
JTC is a publicly listed, global
professional services business with deep expertise in fund,
corporate and private client services. Every JTC person is an owner
of the business and this fundamental part of our culture aligns us
with the best interests of all of our stakeholders. Our purpose is
to maximise potential and our success is built on service
excellence, long-term relationships and technology capabilities
that drive efficiency and add value.
www.jtcgroup.com
