5 February 2025
JTC PLC
(the "Company" and together
with its subsidiaries "JTC" or the "Group")
Pre-close Full
Year Trading Update
Record new business, strong
organic growth and six acquisitions mark a fast start to the
'Cosmos' era
JTC, the global professional
services business, today issues the following trading update in
advance of its full year results for the year ended 31 December
2024.
2024 marked the first year of the
Company's Cosmos era business plan, during which it aims to double
revenue and underlying EBITDA from that reported in 2023 (revenue
£257.4m; underlying EBITDA £85.9m) within a four-year timeframe.
This would represent the third time that the company has doubled in
size since its listing in 2018, with the prior Odyssey era (2018 to
2020) and Galaxy era (2021 to 2023) plans being delivered
successfully through a combination of organic and inorganic growth
and our unique employee Shared Ownership culture.
The Group's notable achievements in
the period include the completion of five acquisitions (Blackheath,
Hanway, FRTC-DE, FFP and Buck UK), noting the previously announced
delay in the FFP completion. In addition, the acquisition of Citi
Trust in the US, announced in H2 2024, cements JTC's position as
the leading independent provider of global trust services. The
acquisition is on track to complete before the end of Q2 2025.
While the Group remains highly focused on the integration of these
acquisitions and completion of the Citi Trust deal, it maintains a
well-developed pipeline of further opportunities.
Guidance for net organic revenue
growth per annum was raised from a range of 8% - 10% in the Galaxy
era to 10%+ for the Cosmos era. This has been achieved in 2024,
supported by a record year for new business wins with year on year
growth of 15.9% to £35.7m (2023: £30.8m). The US was a key driver
of this performance across both Divisions, highlighting its
significant growth potential for the Group.
The Group's underlying EBITDA margin
will be within the guidance range of 33% - 38% and reflects the
Group's continued investment in organic growth. Following the
series of acquisitions, leverage at period end, excluding the Citi
Trust transaction, will be at the bottom of the guidance range of
1.5x - 2.0x underlying EBITDA. Cash conversion will be at the top
end of the guidance range of 85% - 90%.
The Board expects the Group to
deliver full year results in line with market
expectations[1], after allowing for the impact
of the later than expected FFP completion and FX
headwinds.
The Company's award-winning Shared
Ownership programme, where 100% of employees are direct owners,
recognised the achievements of the Galaxy era with an award of
c.£50m in JTC shares to eligible employees in July 2024, with half
the award vesting on grant and the second half vesting on the first
anniversary (July 2025), subject to conditions of continuous
employment being met. Awards are satisfied upon vesting by
transferring existing Ordinary Shares warehoused in the JTC PLC
Employee Benefit Trust to each participant. Consequently, the grant
of these awards is non-dilutive to the existing shareholders of the
Group.
The annual employee survey, carried
out in November 2024, had a participation rate of 89% and 86% of
respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they value being an
employee owner at JTC. Staff retention for 2024 was 96%, which once
again exceeded the Company's key performance indicator of 90%+, and
is industry leading.
Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC PLC,
said:
"The Group made a fast start to the
Cosmos era in 2024, with our people energised by the success and
momentum of the excellent results achieved in 2023. Having raised
our guidance for organic growth for this era we have delivered on
this key metric, which is a strong result in light of a weaker
fundraising environment. The record performance in new business
wins, particularly from the US, helps underscore our confidence in
continuing to deliver against the increased organic growth target.
Our ability to source high quality acquisitions was again
demonstrated, with six deals being completed or announced,
including the transformational acquisition of Citi Trust which,
upon completion, will cement our position as the largest
independent provider of private trust services in the high-growth
US market.
"We continue to invest in our global
platform to support and capture long-term growth, expanding our
service offering and jurisdictional footprint both organically and
inorganically. As owners of the business, we all remain extremely
ambitious for the Group's long-term success and are confident that
we are well on track with our Cosmos era goal to double the size of
JTC for the third time since IPO."
Notice of results
The Company will announce its full
year results for the year ended 31 December 2024 on Tuesday 8 April
2025. A 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.
For
further information please contact:
|
JTC
plc
|
Tel: +44 (0)1534 700
700
|
|
Nigel Le Quesne, Chief Executive
Officer
|
|
|
Martin Fotheringham, Chief Financial
Officer
|
|
|
David Vieira, Chief Communications
Officer
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7797 735 444
|
|
Camarco (Financial
PR)
|
|
|
Geoffry Pelham-Lane
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7733 124
226
|
|
Sam Morris
|
Tel: +44 (0) 7796 827
008
|
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
