TIDMNCC
RNS Number : 7176Q
NCC Group PLC
23 June 2020
23 June 2020
NCC Group plc
Trading update and Notice of Final Results
NCC Group plc, (LSE: NCC, "NCC Group" or "the Group"), the
leading independent global cyber security and resilience advisor,
is pleased to provide the following update in advance of publishing
its preliminary results for the year ended 31 May 2020 (FY20).
Context
In line with our trading update on 23 March, the Group has
experienced delays, cancellations, and disruption to our business
operations since Q3 FY20, which have broadly followed the same
pattern as the spread of Covid-19 across the regions in which we
operate.
Our primary concern during this time has been the wellbeing of
our colleagues and customers. We switched quickly to remote working
- facilitated by the investments we have made in systems and
infrastructure through our Securing Growth Together transformation
programme - which has enabled us to continue to deliver robustly
for our clients throughout this period of disruption.
Trading update
The Board expects Revenue and Adjusted EBIT (1) (subject to
audit) to be comfortably ahead of latest FY20 analysts' consensus
expectations of GBP243m and GBP22.3m respectively. Revenue will be
higher than in FY19 and Adjusted EBIT (1) will be lower, owing to
our decision to preserve the capability and capacity of our
business in readiness for the economic recovery.
We believe that Covid-19 will continue to have an uncertain
impact on demand through FY21 and for this reason we are not yet in
a position to reintroduce guidance to the market on our future
financial performance. However, our r ecurring and long-term
revenues , particularly in our Software Resilience (Escrow) and
Managed Services businesses, provide us with some protection.
We remain confident in the long-term growth potential of the
cyber market. Therefore, consistent with our March trading update,
our two key priorities are to maintain a strong balance sheet and
to preserve our specialist capability and capacity in order to meet
the strong demand we expect in future years.
Strong balance sheet
The Group continues to have a strong balance sheet with access
to a committed multi-currency revolving credit facility of GBP100m,
due for renewal in June 2024.
During the year, our cash management discipline and short-term
discretionary cost saving actions have resulted in net debt as at
31 May 2020 falling to less than GBP5m (May 2019: GBP20.2m,
November 2019: GBP20.8m). This includes cash balances of c.GBP95m
(May 2019: GBP35m) following the full draw down of our revolving
credit facility in April 2020 (May 2019: GBP43m undrawn) which we
did to provide the Group with maximum cash flexibility.
The Group has benefited from certain government tax deferral
programmes, however the Group has not drawn down any government
loan support. The total cash timing benefit from tax deferral in
FY20 amounted to c.GBP5m, with reversal expected to occur in
FY21.
Preserve our specialist capability
In keeping with our objective to preserve our capability and
capacity, we have not made any Covid-19 related redundancies or
furloughed any colleagues. Our long-term objective is to be the
global hub for cyber talent and we are pleased that technical staff
attrition improved year-on-year.
Notice of Final Results
The Company expects to report its preliminary results for the
year ended 31 May 2020, on 3 September 2020. This takes into
account the logistical challenges our auditors and our finance team
face in completing due processes in a remote working
environment.
Management will host a remote presentation and Q&A session,
details of which will be circulated ahead of the event.
Adam Palser , Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Thanks to the inspirational response of my NCC Group
colleagues, coupled with the investments we have made in systems
and processes as part of our Securing Growth Together
transformation programme, NCC is successfully weathering the
Covid-19 storm. During this period of uncertainty we have focused
on the wellbeing of our people, continued to deliver high impact
work to protect our customers from cyber threat and strengthened
our balance sheet.
I am very pleased with our performance and we stand ready to
take advantage of opportunities as the global pandemic
subsides."
Notes:
(1) Adjusted Earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) is
Pre-IFRS 16.
Enquiries
NCC Group +44 (0)161 2095432
Adam Palser, CEO
Tim Kowalski, CFO
Maitland AMO +44 (0)7775 684934
Al Loehnis
About NCC Group
NCC Group exists to make the world safer and more secure.
As the leading independent global cyber security and resilience
advisor, NCC Group is trusted by over 15,000 clients worldwide to
protect their most critical assets from the ever-changing threat
landscape.
With the company's knowledge, experience and global footprint,
it is best placed to help businesses identify, assess, mitigate and
respond to the evolving cyber risks they face.
To support its mission, NCC Group continually invests in
research and innovation, and is passionate about developing the
next generation of cyber scientists.
With around 2,000 colleagues in 12 countries, NCC Group has a
significant market presence in North America, continental Europe
and the UK, and a rapidly growing footprint in Asia Pacific with
offices in Australia, Japan and Singapore.
www.nccgroup.com
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END
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