17 September 2024
JTC PLC
(the "Company") together
with its subsidiaries (the "Group" or "JTC")
Interim results for the
period ended 30 June 2024
Accelerated start to Cosmos
era with strong organic performance and strategic
M&A
|
As
reported
|
Underlying*
|
|
H1 2024
|
H1
2023
|
Change
|
H1 2024
|
H1
2023
|
Change
|
Revenue (£m)
|
147.1
|
121.5
|
+21.1%
|
147.1
|
121.5
|
+21.1%
|
EBITDA (£m)
|
46.4
|
36.5
|
+27.3%
|
49.1
|
40.2
|
+22.3%
|
EBITDA margin*
|
31.6%
|
30.0%
|
+1.6pp
|
33.4%
|
33.1%
|
+0.3pp
|
Operating profit/EBIT
(£m)
|
31.9
|
24.7
|
+29.2%
|
34.6
|
28.4
|
+22.0%
|
Profit before tax (£m)
|
19.9
|
11.9
|
+67.0%
|
23.1
|
19.7
|
+17.3%
|
Earnings per share (p)**
|
11.41
|
7.61
|
+50.0%
|
19.87
|
18.16
|
+9.4%
|
Cash conversion*
|
104%
|
113%
|
-9.0pp
|
104%
|
113%
|
-9.0pp
|
Net debt (£m)
|
150.5
|
44.6
|
+105.9
|
131.9
|
28.0
|
+103.9
|
Interim dividend per share
(p)
|
4.3
|
3.5
|
+22.9%
|
4.3
|
3.5
|
+22.9%
|
*
For further information on our alternative
performance measures (APMs) see the appendix to the CFO
Review.
** Average number
of shares (thousands) for H1 2024: 162,079 (H1 2023: 147,075).
STRONG FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
· Revenue +21.1% to £147.1m (H1 2023: £121.5m)
· Underlying EBITDA +22.3% to £49.1m (H1 2023: £40.2m) with an
underlying EBITDA margin of 33.4% (H1 2023: 33.1%)
· Outstanding LTM net organic revenue growth of 12.5%, ahead of
our upgraded guidance of 10%+ per annum
· Strong US gross revenue growth of 83.4%
· Record new business wins +28.8% to £18.8 (H1 2023:
£14.6m)
· Further reduction in client attrition to 4.8% (LTM H1 2023:
5.7%) reflecting the longevity and strength of client
relationships
· Underlying cash conversion of 104% (H1 2023: 113%)
· Leverage at 1.39x underlying EBITDA at period end, below the
guidance range of 1.5x - 2.0x
· Interim dividend +22.9% to 4.3p (H1 2023: 3.5p)
DISCIPLINED AND STRATEGIC M&A
ACTIVITY
· During the period, we added four businesses to our platform
that are balanced between the divisions, were all acquired at
attractive multiples and funded from existing facilities
· FFP,
announced in June, broadens our scope of expertise with its leading
position in complex engagements including restructurings,
insolvencies and disputes, and will form a core pillar of our new
Governance Services business line, which is being developed in
conjunction with the Group Commercial Office as well as cementing
JTC's leadership position in the Cayman Islands
· Blackheath Capital and Hanway Advisory, both in the UK, and
First Republic Trust Company (FRTC) in Delaware, USA, were all
bolt-on in size and are integrating swiftly
· SDTC
enjoyed its one year anniversary as part of the JTC Group in
August, and we are delighted with its integration and financial
performance, contributing to gross growth of 83.4% in the
region
· Post
period end we announced two further deals. The acquisition of the
Buck share plan business, to scale our existing Employer Solutions
business, and the acquisition of Citi's global trust company
business which we expect to be a transformational addition to the
Group
ACCELERATED START TO THE COSMOS ERA
· Good
momentum continues and the Group expects to deliver full year
results in line with management guidance and current market
expectations
· All
of the recent acquisitions offer significant growth opportunities;
in particular, Citi Trust, which will form part of the PCS
Division, will make JTC the largest independent global trust
company business. Within the ICS Division, FFP will be the
foundation of our Governance Services practice, which will be
branded Northpoint Governance
· Good
pipeline of further consolidation opportunities across both the ICS
and PCS Divisions and target growth markets over the
medium-term
· All
medium-term guidance metrics maintained or exceeded as JTC starts
the Cosmos era: net organic revenue growth of 10%+ per annum;
underlying EBITDA margin of 33% - 38%; cash conversion of 85% - 90%
and net debt of between 1.5x - 2.0x underlying
EBITDA
Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC PLC, said:
"We have made a strong start to
the Cosmos era, with record new business wins, organic growth above
our upgraded guidance at a stable margin even as we continue to
invest in growth. A particular highlight has been our M&A
activity with four acquisitions announced or completed during the
period. Post period end, we were pleased to announce the
acquisition of Buck as an addition to our Employer Solutions
business and the significant acquisition from Citibank of Citi
Trust, its global trust company business. This is a
transformational deal for the Group and the PCS Division, cementing
JTC as one of the world's largest independent trust company
businesses.
Our commitment to ownership for
all employees remains our defining characteristic and while it did
not fall directly within the period, I must mention our most recent
Shared Ownership event, through which £50m of 'warehoused' shares
from our Employee Benefit Trust, were awarded to our global
workforce in recognition of their collective achievement to double
the size of the Group in just three years by delivering our Galaxy
Era plan. As always, I thank our employee-owners for their
dedication to our clients and for bringing the JTC culture to
life."
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
|
|
|
Geoffrey Pelham-Lane
|
|
+44 (0) 7733 124 226
|
Sam Morris
|
|
+44 (0) 7796 827 008
|
A presentation for analysts will
be held at 09:30 BST today via Zoom video conference. The slides
and an audio-cast of the presentation will subsequently be made
available on the JTC website www.jtcgroup.com/investor-relations
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement may contain
forward looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a
guarantee of future performance and actual results or performance
or other financial condition could differ materially from those
contained in the forward looking statements. These forward-looking
statements can be identified by the fact they do not relate only to
historical or current facts. They may contain words such as "may",
"will", "seek", "continue", "aim", "anticipate", "target",
"projected", "expect", "estimate", "intend", "plan", "goal",
"believe", "achieve" or other words with similar meaning. By their
nature forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty
because they relate to future events and circumstances. A number of
these influences and factors are outside of the Company's control.
As a result, actual results may differ materially from the plans,
goals and expectations contained in this announcement. Any
forward-looking statements made in this announcement speak only as
of the date they are made. Except as required by the FCA or any
applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any
obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or
revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this
announcement.
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 our stakeholders. Our purpose is to
maximize potential and our success is built on service excellence,
long-term relationships and technology capabilities that drive
efficiency and add value.
www.jtcgroup.com
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER'S REVIEW
ACCELERATED START TO THE COSMOS ERA
NIGEL LE QUESNE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
We are exceptionally proud of the Group's
continued ability to deliver against stretching multi-year business
plans, which we call eras. Having completed the Galaxy era by the
end of 2023, some two years early, we carried the momentum into the
new year as we embarked on the Cosmos era in January 2024. The
Group's ability to perform persists with the strong financial
performance and disciplined and attractive M&A delivery
underpinning our progress. We are particularly pleased with the
pace with which we have been able to conduct M&A activity,
adding four businesses to our platform in the period, as well as
the post period announcements of Buck, a bolt-on that will form
part of our Employer Solutions business, and the significant
acquisition of Citi's global trust company business, which will sit
within the PCS Division and cement our position as one of the
world's largest independent trust company businesses. Moving
forward we will continue to maintain our disciplined approach to
M&A and have a strong pipeline of further
opportunities.
H1 2024 FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Revenue grew 21.1% to £147.1m with very good
net organic growth of 12.5%, ahead of our medium-term guidance that
was revised upwards to 10%+ for the Cosmos era, following a 'purple
patch' of record organic growth in 2023. Underlying EBITDA rose by
22.3% to £49.1m (H1 2023: £40.2m), with an underlying EBITDA margin
of 33.4% (H1 2023: 33.1%). We once again saw record new business
wins of £18.8m up 28.8% period on period (H1 2023: £14.6m).
Underlying cash conversion was 104% (H1 2023: 113%), reflecting
appropriate investment in our infrastructure. At the period end,
leverage was 1.39x underlying EBITDA, below our medium-term
guidance of between 1.5x and 2.0x underlying EBITDA. Based on
these results and the Board's confidence in JTC's ability to
continue to deliver consistent returns to shareholders, our interim
dividend has increased by 22.9% to 4.3 pence per share.
PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES DIVISION
Revenue increased strongly by 46.1% to £59.6m
(H1 2023: £40.8m) with sector-leading net organic growth of 13.9%
(H1 2023: 18.6%) and a similarly impressive increase of 51.6% in
underlying EBITDA to £22.3m (H1 2023: £14.7m). The underlying
EBITDA margin increased by 1.4pp to 37.4% (H1 2023: 36.0%). The
Division continued to leverage the introduction of new services and
secured significant new mandates across the platform resulting in
record new business wins of £8.1m (H1 2023: £3.7m) for the
period.
In particular, the performance of our US
business has been strong, with the addition of SDTC to our existing
platform, which celebrated its one year anniversary in August, and
the addition of FRTC in Delaware, all providing additional scale
and delivering performance in the high growth US market. Post
period end, we were delighted to announce the acquisition of Citi's
global trust company business. This is a transformational deal for
the Division and makes JTC one of the largest global independent
trust company businesses.
INSTITUTIONAL CLIENT SERVICES
DIVISION
Revenue increased by 8.5% to £87.5m (H1 2023:
£80.7m) and underlying EBITDA was up 5.5% to £26.9m (H1 2023:
£25.5m). The underlying EBITDA margin stood slightly lower at
30.7% (H1 2023: 31.6%). We saw robust net organic growth of 11.9%
(H1 2023: 22.4%) and new business wins of £10.7m (H1 2023:
10.9m).
Three of the four acquisitions during the
period now form part of the ICS Division, with FFP being the
catalyst and a core pillar for a new Governance Services practice,
which we are calling Northpoint Governance Services. We look
forward to developing this offering in conjunction with the Group
Commercial Office and expect it to be launched in 2025. The
additions of Blackheath and Hanway brought ManCo, company
secretarial and regulatory oversight services to our UK client base
and service capabilities. Post period end, we also acquired the
Buck share plan administration business, accelerating our share
plan administration ambitions and trustee services in the UK,
Guernsey and Germany, which forms part of our Employer Solutions
business line.
We welcomed Kate Beauchamp as the new Head of
the Division this month. Her outstanding executive credentials and
track record, along with her former role as a NED on our Board,
where she was also Chair of the Governance & Risk committee,
provide the perfect background and a seamless transition to her
role as global leader of ICS. We are delighted to have her as part
of the senior management team and look forward to growing the
Division even further under her stewardship.
GOVERNANCE SERVICES PRACTICE
The acquisition of FFP, which will form a
cornerstone of the Governance Services practice, reflects the
'2+2=5' intersection between our innovative Group Commercial Office
and the JTC's disciplined and strategic approach to M&A. During
the Cosmos era, we will work to capitalise on what we see as a
substantial opportunity across the Group to develop the business
line and we are excited to leverage this expertise into the markets
where we already have a well-established presence. The revenues
from these activities, which will be marketed under the Northpoint
Governance Services brand, will be reflected in the Institutional
Client Services Division going forward.
SHARED OWNERSHIP
Post period end, and in recognition of the
tremendous success of the Galaxy era, we awarded £50m of
'warehoused' shares from our Employee Benefit Trust to our entire
global workforce. This was the fourth Shared Ownership award in our
history and to date, more than £400m of value has been created for
JTC employee-owners.
I have no doubt that our commitment to shared ownership for all
staff is responsible for our continued successes. It has been
fundamental to our 36 years of revenue and profit growth, our
industry low staff turnover, which currently stands at 4%
Group-wide, and the ambition and spirit of the top quality JTC team
at all levels of the organisation. The Award is well deserved and
will have energised the whole team to succeed in the Cosmos era,
and beyond.
RISK
The principal risks facing the Group remain as
set out in the JTC Annual Report and Accounts 2023 (pages 59 to
63). The Group's principal risks are periodically re-examined and
reported by the Chief Risk Officer to the Governance and Risk
Committee with an assessment on (i) their impact if they were to
occur and (ii) the likelihood of occurrence, together with a
description of the controls and mitigation in place to manage those
controls and any actions deemed necessary by the risk owner to
further reduce the assessed residual risk. Ongoing material risks
include acquisition risk, competitor and client demand risk,
strategy risk, performance of business risk, client and process
risk, data security risk, political/regulation risk, financial
crime risk, fiduciary risk and adequate resource risk.
The regulatory environment continues to feature
significantly in our markets. Regulators, globally, have applied
increasingly stringent controls and monitoring in recent years,
driven by International standard setters and the constant
introduction of new regulations and regulatory powers. This is a
consequence of a global industry, with local regulators and no
'lead regulator' concept. It is also reflective of a recognition of
JTC as a large, impactful, leading firm that has an excellent
record of regulatory compliance across our jurisdictions. We
actively and positively engage with all our regulators, horizon
scan, consult and assist with observations and advice.
While increased regulation leads to higher
compliance costs we overwhelmingly see it as a tailwind for our
business. Not only does it represent barriers to entry and to scale
within our industry, but it also leads to our clients and potential
clients requiring an increasing amount of expert assistance to
remain compliant across the globe and therefore drives demand for
such services.
Global macroeconomic developments and
geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, elevated interest
rates, ongoing energy security challenges, and global political
changes all present a particular set of risks that have the
potential to slow investment and global growth. Whilst the Group is
unable to control these risks we remain vigilant to their impact
and respond proactively. Overall, we remain satisfied as to the
effectiveness of the Group's risk analysis, management and culture,
developed over 36 years of continuous growth at JTC.
DIVIDEND
The Board has declared an interim dividend of
4.3p per share, an increase of 0.8p period on period (H1 2023:
3.5p). The interim dividend will be paid on 25 October 2024 to
shareholders on the register as at close of business on the record
date of 27 September 2024. The shares will become ex-dividend on 26
September 2024.
OUTLOOK
Based on these results, we remain confident in
the Group's continued success and ability to deliver against our
ambitious Cosmos era business plan. As before, we will deliver this
through a combination of organic and inorganic growth. In terms of
the M&A pipeline, we continue to see potential opportunities
and will maintain our selective and disciplined approach. Momentum
has continued through 2024 and the Group expects to deliver full
year results in line with management guidance and current market
expectations.
Alongside leveraging the US platform built
during the Galaxy era, the strong and disciplined start to M&A
activity in 2024 will serve as an excellent foundation for
continued success throughout the Cosmos era. Our strong financial
performance with impressive organic growth, record new business
wins, continued high cash conversion and the ability to de-lever,
along with an increased interim dividend, are testament to the
Board's confidence in JTC's ability to continue to deliver
consistent growth.
NIGEL LE QUESNE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHIEF Financial OFFICER'S REVIEW
EXCELLENT AND CONSISTENT FINANCIAL
PERFORMANCE
MARTIN FOTHERINGHAM
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
"We are pleased to once again
report an excellent and consistent set of results. These reflect
the nature of our business and our commitment to continued
investment in the underlying business to deliver
growth."
REVENUE
In H1 2024, revenue was £147.1m, an increase of
£25.6m (+21.1%) from H1 2023. Revenue growth on a constant currency
basis for H1 2024 was 22.5% (H1 2023: 27.9%).
Net organic growth for the last
twelve months (LTM) ended 30 June 2024 was
12.5% (H1 2023:
21.0%), exceeding management's medium-term
guidance range of 10% or higher. The
rolling three-year average increased to 14.4% (H1 2023: 12.7%), a
record high and reflects the impressive growth recorded over recent
years.
Within organic growth, we have
continued to see both strong volume and pricing growth. Continuing
high inflation levels have contributed to higher levels of pricing
growth.
Our largest 15 clients represent
9.3% (H1 2023: 11.5%) of our annual
revenue, reducing customer concentration in the business. The new
business pipeline is healthy, and after a number of new business
wins in the last weeks of this reporting period now stands at
£51.0m at the period end (31.12.2023: £54.9m).
Net organic growth was driven by
gross new business revenues for the proceeding twelve months
of £38.3m
(LTM H1 2023: £44.1m). Within this we saw client attrition of 4.8%
(LTM H1 2023: 5.7%), with the three-year average falling to 5.7%
(H1 2023: 6.9%). The decrease in attrition was expected and
reflects the increased longevity of our client relationships, which
has been positively impacted by the high-quality acquisitions made
in recent years.
The retention of revenues that were
not end of life dropped slightly to 98.2% (LTM H1 2023: 98.6%)
although the rolling three-year average improved to 98.3% (H1 2023:
97.9%). These have stayed consistently within a range of 96.6% to
99.0% in the 6 years since our IPO.
Geographical growth is summarised
below, with the highlight being the 83.4% growth recorded in the US
(H1 2023: 55.6%) with the region now representing 32% of our
reported revenues (H1 2023: 21%).
|
|
|
|
|
H1 2024
Revenue
|
H1 2023
Revenue
|
£ +/-
|
% +/-
|
UK & Channel Islands
|
£66.7m
|
£64.7m
|
+£2.0m
|
+3.2%
|
US
|
£46.4m
|
£25.3m
|
+£21.1m
|
+83.4%
|
Rest of Europe
|
£19.7m
|
£18.6m
|
+£1.1m
|
+5.7%
|
Rest of the World
|
£14.3m
|
£12.9m
|
+£1.4m
|
+11.0%
|
|
£147.1m
|
£121.5m
|
+£25.6m
|
+21.1%
|
LTM revenue growth, on a constant currency
basis, is summarised as follows.
|
|
LTM Revenue Jun 23
|
£224.7m
|
Lost - JTC decision
|
(£1.0m)
|
Lost - Change of service
provider
|
(£2.9m)
|
Lost - End of life/no longer
required
|
(£6.7m)
|
Net more from existing
clients
|
£24.1m
|
New clients
|
£14.2m
|
Acquisitions*
|
£29.9m
|
LTM Revenue Jun 24
|
£282.3m
|
* When JTC
acquires a business, the acquired book of clients are defined as
inorganic for the first two years of JTC ownership. Acquired
clients contributed an additional £29.9m in the LTM to 30 June 2024
and is broken down as follows: Blackheath £0.2m, SDTC £27.4m and
NYPTC £2.3m.
UNDERLYING EBITDA AND
MARGIN PERFORMANCE
Underlying EBITDA in H1 2024 was £49.1m, an
increase of £8.9m (22.3%) from H1 2023.
We have maintained our underlying EBITDA margin
from 2023 of 33.4%, which is an increase from 33.1% in H1 2023.
Whilst we continue to enjoy strong growth momentum, we will
continue to invest into the infrastructure necessary to drive that
growth thereby maintaining our market leading
position.
PRIVATE CLIENT SERVICES
Revenue for the first six months of 2024
increased by 46.1% when compared with H1 2023.
LTM net organic growth, on a constant currency
basis, was 13.9% (H1 2023: 18.6%) with standout growth reported in
the US and Caribbean. The rolling three-year average now stands at
12.2% (H1 2023: 10.8%).
Attrition for the Division was consistent at
5.3% (H1 2023: 4.9%), of which 4.0% (H1 2023: 3.0%) were for end of
life losses.
LTM revenue growth, on a constant currency
basis, is summarised below.
REVENUE
GROWTH PCS
|
|
LTM Revenue Jun 23
|
£73.3m
|
Lost - JTC decision
|
(£0.2m)
|
Lost - Change of service
provider
|
(£0.7m)
|
Lost - End of life/no longer
required
|
(£2.8m)
|
Net more from existing
clients
|
£6.4m
|
New clients
|
£7.0m
|
Acquisitions*
|
£29.7m
|
LTM Revenue Jun 24
|
£112.7m
|
* When JTC
acquires a business, the acquired book of clients are defined as
inorganic for the first two years of JTC ownership. Acquired
clients contributed an additional £29.9m in the LTM to 30 June 2024
and is broken down as follows: SDTC £27.4m and NYPTC
£2.3m.
The Division's underlying EBITDA margin
increased from 36.0% in H1 2023 to an impressive 37.4% in H1 2024.
This reflects both the successful integrations of NYPTC and SDTC,
alongside the continued margin momentum seen in 2023.
INSTITUTIONAL CLIENT SERVICES
Revenue for the first 6 months of 2024
increased by 8.5% when compared with H1 2023.
LTM net organic growth, on a constant currency
basis, was 11.9% (H1 2023: 22.4%) and broadly in line with
expectations, where the main source of revenue growth continues to
be from the US. The rolling three-year average now stands at 16.1%
(H1 2023: 14.1%).
Attrition for the Division fell to 4.6% (H1
2023: 6.0%), of which 2.6% (H1 2023: 5.0%) was for end of life
losses. As noted in the 2023 review, the improvement in
attrition is largely attributable to the acquisition of the SALI
and RBC cees businesses which have much longer mandates.
LTM revenue growth, on a constant currency
basis, is summarised below.
REVENUE
GROWTH ICS
|
|
LTM Revenue Jun 23
|
£151.4m
|
Lost - JTC decision
|
(£0.8m)
|
Lost - Change of service
provider
|
(£2.2m)
|
Lost - End of life/no longer
required
|
(£3.9m)
|
Net more from existing
clients
|
£17.7m
|
New clients
|
£7.2m
|
Acquisitions*
|
£0.2m
|
LTM Revenue Jun 24
|
£169.6m
|
* When JTC
acquires a business, the acquired book of clients are defined as
inorganic for the first two years of JTC ownership. Acquired
clients contributed an additional £0.2m in the LTM to 30 June 2024
and is broken down as follows: Blackheath £0.2m.
The Division's underlying EBITDA margin
decreased from 31.6% in H1 2023 to 30.7% in H1 2024. This is the
result of continued investment in the business in order to
capitalise on and maximise growth opportunities, increased
regulatory obligations, and delays in the onboarding of work won
which were largely outside of our control.
We remain confident that the continued
investment in the Division will result in improved long-term
returns.
PROFIT BEFORE TAX
The reported profit before tax was £19.9m (H1
2023: £11.9m).
The depreciation and amortisation charge
increased to £14.6m from £11.8m in H1 2023. The major components of
the £2.8m increase were £1.4m from acquired intangible assets
(SDTC, NYPTC and Blackheath acquisitions) and £1.2m from increased
depreciation charges on property, plant and equipment.
Adjusting for non-underlying items, the
underlying profit before tax increased by 17.3% to £23.1m (H1 2023:
£19.7m).
The relative increase was lower than the 22.3%
growth reported in underlying EBITDA, and this was due to the
increased interest expense (+£2.5m) on our borrowings that fund
M&A activity.
At 30 June 2024, bank borrowings stood at
£220.7m compared to £103.7m at 30 June 2023. Of the drawn down
debt, £180m has been hedged at a fixed rate of c. 4.3% (excluding
bank margin) with the remaining balance chargeable at the floating
SONIA rate.
NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS
Non-underlying items incurred in the period
totalled a £3.2m charge (H1 2023: £7.8m) and comprised the
following:
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
EBITDA
|
|
|
Acquisition and integration
costs
|
2.3
|
3.5
|
Office start-up costs
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
Other costs
|
0.2
|
0.1
|
Total non-underlying items within
EBITDA
|
2.7
|
3.7
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax
|
|
|
Items impacting EBITDA
|
2.7
|
3.7
|
Losses/(gains) on revaluation of
contingent consideration
|
0.3
|
(0.2)
|
(Gain) on disposal of
subsidiary
|
(0.1)
|
-
|
Foreign exchange losses
|
0.3
|
4.3
|
Total non-underlying items within
profit before tax
|
3.2
|
7.8
|
Acquisition and integration costs of £2.3m were
£1.2m lower than H1 2023. Whilst we have seen increased M&A
activity in 2024, H1 2023 included £2.6m of costs in relation to
the SDTC acquisition that completed in H2 2023.
Office start-up costs of £0.2m included final
costs in establishing the infrastructure to trade in
Austria.
The loss on revaluation of contingent
consideration relates to the perfORM earn-out where an updated
Monte Carlo simulation resulted in an increased share price used to
value the share element of the earn-out.
The foreign exchange loss of £0.3m relates to
the revaluation of inter-company loans (H1 2023: £4.3m). Management
considers these losses as non-underlying as they are unrealisable
movements from the elimination of inter-company loans upon
consolidation and do not relate to the underlying trading
activities of the Group.
Tax
The net tax charge in the year was £1.5m (H1
2023: £0.8m). The cash tax charge was £2.3m (H1 2023: £1.6m), but
this is reduced by deferred tax credits of £0.8m (H1 2023: £0.9m)
mainly because of movements in relation to the value of acquired
intangible assets held on the balance sheet. When excluding
non-underlying items, our H1 2024 effective tax rate was 9.9% (H1
2023: 8.3%).
Whilst we have seen a slight increase in the
tax rate in the period, we expect the rate for the full year to be
in line with prior guidance.
The Group regularly reviews its transfer
pricing policy, is fully committed to responsible tax practices and
continues to be fully compliant with OECD guidelines. Whilst we are
not legally required to publish our tax strategy, we consider it
best practice to demonstrate transparency on tax matters and our
Board-approved strategy is available online.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic EPS increased by 50.0% to 11.41p. Taking
into account non-underlying items and the adjustments that we make
against profit for the year, our adjusted underlying EPS increased
by 9.4% and was 19.87p (H1 2023: 18.16p).
Whilst still reporting in line with
expectations, the growth of 9.4% is lower than underlying profit
growth of 17.3%. This was due to the fund raise and subsequent
issuance of shares that financed the SDTC acquisition.
Adjusted underlying basic EPS reflects the
profit for the year adjusted to remove the impact of non-underlying
items, amortisation of acquired intangible assets and associated
deferred tax, amortisation of loan arrangement fees, impairment of
intangible customer relationships and the unwinding of net present
value discounts in relation to contingent consideration.
RETURN ON invested CAPITAL (ROIC)
Normalised ROIC for the last twelve months to
30 June 2024 was 13.0% (2023: 12.3%) which was significantly above
our cost of capital. We measure ROIC on a post-tax basis and more
information on our approach can be found in the CFO's Review
appendix.
CASH FLOW AND DEBT
Underlying cash generated from operations was
£51.0m (H1 2023: £45.2m) and underlying cash conversion was strong
at 104% (H1 2023: 113%).
The current period is consistent with historic
performance (recognising that H1 2023 was the best in our recent
history) and management maintains its annual medium-term cash
conversion guidance range of 85% - 90%.
As is normal, the business has seen cash
conversion in the first half of year exceed 100% and this has
primarily been due to annual invoices that are collected in advance
of services being performed.
Reported net debt includes cash balances set
aside for regulatory compliance purposes. Underlying net debt
excludes these balances and at the period end was £131.9m compared
with £28.0m at 30 June 2023.
The reason for the £103.9m increase is
two-fold; the prior year included a temporary reduction driven by
the timing of the receipt of the gross proceeds from the equity
raise in advance of the SDTC acquisition, and the LTM period
includes the £118m drawdown on 1 August 2023 to satisfy the SDTC
consideration.
On 10 January 2024, the Group paid out £21.1m
from its own cash to settle the SALI earn-out in full. We are
pleased to report a slight reduction in our leverage to 1.39x
(31.12.2023: 1.43x).
MARTIN FOTHERINGHAM
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Statement of directors'
responsibilities in respect of the interim financial
statements
For the 6 month period ended 30
June 2024
"The directors' confirm that these
condensed interim financial statements have been prepared in
accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim
Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and that the
interim management report includes a fair review of the information
required by DTR 4.2.7 and DTR 4.2.8, namely:
· an
indication of important events that have occurred during the first
six months and their impact on the condensed set of financial
statements, and a description of the principal risks and
uncertainties for the remaining six months of the financial year;
and
· material related-party transactions in the first six months
and any material changes in the related-party transactions
described in the last annual report."
Nigel Le
Quesne Martin
Fotheringham
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Financial
Officer
16 September
2024 16
September 2024
Appendix: Reconciliation of reported results
to Alternative Performance Measures (APMs)
In order to assist the reader's understanding
of the financial performance of the Group, APMs have been included
to better reflect the underlying activities of the Group excluding
specific items as set out in note 8 in the interim financial
statements. The Group appreciates that APMs are not considered to
be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measures but believes
that the selected use of these may provide stakeholders with
additional information which will assist in the understanding of
the business.
An explanation of our key APMs and link to
equivalent statutory measure has been detailed below.
Alternative performance measure
|
Closest
equivalent statutory measure
|
APM
Definition / PURPOSE AND STRATEGIC LINK
|
net Organic revenue growth
%
|
Revenue
|
Definition: Revenue growth
from clients not acquired through business combinations and
reported on a constant currency basis where the prior year results
are restated using current year consolidated income statement
exchange rates.
Acquired clients are defined as
inorganic for the first two years of JTC ownership.
Purpose and strategic link: Enables the business to monitor growth excluding acquisitions
and the impact of external exchange rate factors. The current
strategy is to double the size of the business by a mix of organic
and acquisition growth and the ability to monitor and set clear
expectations on organic growth is vital to the successful execution
of its business strategy.
Management's medium-term guidance
range is 10% or higher.
|
Underlying EBITDA %
|
Profit/(loss)
|
Definition: Earnings before
interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation excluding
non-underlying items (see note 8 of the interim financial
statements).
Purpose and strategic link: An industry-recognised alternative measure of performance
which has been at the heart of the business since its incorporation
and therefore fundamental to the performance management of all
business units.
The measure enables the business to
measure the relative profitability of servicing clients.
Management's medium-term guidance
range is 33% - 38%.
|
Underlying cash conversion
%
|
Net cash from operating
activities
|
Definition: The conversion of
underlying EBITDA into cash excluding non-underlying
items.
Purpose and strategic link: Measures how effectively the business is managing its
operating cash flows. It differs to net cash from operating profits
as it excludes non-underlying items and tax, the latter in order to
better compare operating profitability to cash from operating
activities.
Management's medium-term guidance
range is 85% - 90%.
|
Underlying leverage
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
Definition: Leverage ratio
showing the relative amount of third party debt (net of cash held
in the business) that we have in comparison to underlying LTM
EBITDA.
Purpose and strategic link: Ensures Management can measure and control exposure to
reliance on third party debt in support of its inorganic
growth.
Management's medium-term guidance
range is 1.5x - 2.0x.
|
Adjusted underlying BASIC
EPS (p)
|
Basic Earnings Per Share
|
Definition: Reflects the
profit after tax for the year adjusted to remove the impact of
non-underlying items. Additionally, a number of other items
relating to the Group's acquisition activities, including
amortisation of acquired intangible assets and associated deferred
tax, amortisation of loan arrangement fees, impairment of
intangible customer relationships and the unwinding of NPV
discounts in relation to contingent consideration, are
removed.
Purpose and strategic link: Presents an adjusted underlying basic EPS which is used more
widely by external investors and analysts, and is in addition the
basis upon which the dividend is calculated.
|
return on invested capital
(ROIC)
|
Profit/(loss)
|
Definition: Reflects the net
operating profit after tax divided by the average invested
capital.
Purpose and strategic link: Measures the effectiveness of our capital allocation
decisions in generating profit against deployed capital. An
industry-accepted APM and one that both external investors and
analysts use in addition to statutory measures.
|
A reconciliation of our APMs to
their closest equivalent statutory measure has been provided
below.
1. Organic growth
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
Reported prior year full year
revenue (2022 / 2021)
|
200.0
|
147.5
|
Less: reported prior year interim
revenue (H1 2022, H1 2021)
|
(93.0)
|
(67.0)
|
Plus: reported interim revenue (H1
2023 / H1 2022)
|
121.5
|
93.0
|
Less: impact of exchange rate
restatement*
|
(3.8)
|
(4.5)
|
Less: acquisition
revenues
|
(4.1)
|
(12.4)
|
a. Prior period LTM organic
revenue
|
220.6
|
165.6
|
|
|
|
Reported prior year full year
revenue (2023 / 2022)
|
257.4
|
200.0
|
Less: reported prior year interim
revenue (H1 2023 / H1 2022)
|
(121.5)
|
(93.0)
|
Plus: reported interim revenue (H1
2024 / H1 2023)
|
147.1
|
121.5
|
Less: impact of exchange rate
restatement*
|
(0.8)
|
(1.1)
|
Less: acquisition
revenues
|
(34.0)
|
(27.1)
|
b. Current period LTM organic
revenue
|
248.2
|
200.3
|
|
|
|
Net organic growth % (b/a) -1
|
12.5%
|
21.0%
|
2. underlying EBITDA
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
Reported profit
|
18.5
|
11.2
|
Add:
|
|
|
Income tax
|
1.5
|
0.8
|
Finance cost
|
12.0
|
7.5
|
Finance income
|
(0.7)
|
(0.3)
|
Other losses
|
0.6
|
5.5
|
Depreciation and
amortisation
|
14.6
|
11.8
|
Non-underlying items within
EBITDA*
|
2.7
|
3.7
|
Underlying EBITDA
|
49.1
|
40.2
|
Underlying EBITDA %
|
33.4%
|
33.1%
|
*As set out in note 8 in the interim financial statements. A
reconciliation of divisional EBTIDA can be found in note 6 of the
interim financial statements.
3. underlying CASH CONVERSION
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
Net cash generated from operating
activities
|
45.9
|
41.5
|
Less:
|
|
|
Non-underlying cash
items*
|
1.7
|
1.6
|
Income taxes paid
|
3.4
|
2.1
|
a.
Underlying cash generated from operations
|
51.0
|
45.2
|
b.
Underlying EBITDA
|
49.1
|
40.2
|
Underlying cash conversion (a / b)
|
104%
|
113%
|
*As set out in note 19.2 in the interim financial
statements.
4. Underlying LEVERAGE
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
Cash and cash
equivalents
|
88.9
|
75.7
|
Bank debt
|
(220.7)
|
(103.7)
|
a. Net debt - underlying
|
(131.9)
|
(28.0)
|
b. LTM underlying EBITDA
|
94.8
|
75.5
|
Leverage (a / b)
|
1.39
|
0.37
|
5. Adjusted underlying basic eps
|
H1 2024
£m
|
H1 2023
£m
|
Profit for the year as per basic
EPS
|
18.5
|
11.2
|
Less:
|
|
|
Non-underlying items*
|
3.2
|
7.8
|
Amortisation of customer
relationships, acquired software and brands
|
7.9
|
6.5
|
Amortisation of loan arrangement
fees
|
0.6
|
0.4
|
Unwinding of NPV discounts for
contingent consideration
|
2.8
|
1.6
|
Temporary tax differences arising
on amortisation of customer relationships, acquired software and
brands
|
(0.8)
|
(0.9)
|
a. Adjusted underlying profit for
the year
|
32.2
|
26.7
|
b. Weighted average number of
shares
|
162.1
|
147.1
|
Adjusted underlying EPS (a /
b)
|
19.87
|
18.16
|
*As set out in note 8 in the interim financial
statements.
6. return on invested capital
|
LTM 30.06.2024
£m
|
FY23
£m
|
Profit for the period
|
29.1
|
21.8
|
Add back:
|
|
|
Non-underlying items
|
11.6
|
16.2
|
Amortisation of customer
relationships, acquired software and brands
|
15.7
|
14.3
|
Impairment of customer relationship
intangible asset
|
0.7
|
0.7
|
Temporary tax differences arising
on amortisation of customer relationships, acquired software and
brands
|
(1.6)
|
(1.7)
|
Net finance costs
|
22.5
|
18.4
|
Tax estimate on financing
costs
|
(0.3)
|
(0.3)
|
a.
Net operating profit after tax
|
77.6
|
69.5
|
|
|
|
Opening invested capital
(30.06.2023* / 31.12.2022)
|
542.4
|
505.0
|
+ Closing equity
|
518.5
|
503.9
|
+ Closing debt
|
220.7
|
220.5
|
- Closing cash
|
(88.9)
|
(97.2)
|
Closing invested capital
|
650.3
|
627.2
|
b.
Average invested capital (opening + closing/2)
|
596.4
|
566.1
|
|
|
|
c.
ROIC (a / b)
|
13.0%
|
12.3%
|
*Invested capital has been adjusted to add back the impact of
the £62m gross proceeds from the equity raise in H1 2023. This
adjustment ensures that the capital movements in relation to the
SDTC acquisition (H2 2023) do not result in a misstatement of
ROIC.
Independent review report to JTC PLC
Report on the condensed consolidated
interim financial statements
Our conclusion
We have reviewed JTC PLC's
condensed consolidated interim financial statements (the "interim
financial statements") in the Interim Financial Report (the
"interim financial report") of JTC PLC for the six-month period
ended 30 June 2024 (the "period").
Based on our review, nothing has
come to our attention that causes us to believe that the interim
financial statements are not prepared, in all material respects, in
accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim
Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and the
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the United
Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.
The interim financial statements
comprise:
●
the condensed consolidated interim balance sheet
as at 30 June 2024;
●
the condensed consolidated interim income
statement for the period then ended;
●
the condensed consolidated interim statement of
comprehensive income for the period then ended;
●
the condensed consolidated interim statement of
changes in equity for the period then ended;
●
the condensed consolidated interim statement of
cash flows for the period then ended; and
●
the explanatory notes to the condensed
consolidated interim financial statements.
The interim financial statements
included in the interim financial report have been prepared in
accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and
the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the
United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.
Basis for conclusion
We conducted our review in
accordance with International Standard on Review Engagements 2410,
'Review of Interim Financial Information Performed by the
Independent Auditor of the Entity' issued by the International
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. A review of interim
financial information consists of making enquiries, primarily of
persons responsible for financial and accounting matters, and
applying analytical and other review procedures.
A review is substantially less in
scope than an audit conducted in accordance with International
Standards on Auditing and, consequently, does not enable us to
obtain assurance that we would become aware of all significant
matters that might be identified in an audit. Accordingly, we do
not express an audit opinion.
We have read the other information
contained in the interim financial report and considered whether it
contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies
with the information in the interim financial
statements.
Responsibilities for the interim financial
statements and the review
Our responsibilities and those of the
directors
The interim financial report,
including the interim financial statements, is the responsibility
of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are
responsible for preparing the interim financial report in
accordance with International Accounting Standard 34, 'Interim
Financial Reporting', as adopted by the European Union and the
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the United
Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority.
Our responsibility is to express a
conclusion on the interim financial
statements in the interim financial report based on our review.
This report, including the conclusion, has been prepared for and
only for the company for the purpose of complying with the
Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook of the United
Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority and for no other
purpose. We do not, in giving this conclusion, accept or
assume responsibility for any other purpose or to any other person
to whom this report is shown or into whose hands it may come save
where expressly agreed by our prior consent in writing.
PricewaterhouseCoopers CI
LLP
Chartered Accountants
Jersey, Channel Islands
16 September 2024
(a) The maintenance
and integrity of the JTC PLC website is the responsibility of the
directors; the work carried out by the auditors does not involve
consideration of these matters and, accordingly, the auditors
accept no responsibility for any changes that may have occurred to
the financial statements since they were initially presented on the
website.
(b) Legislation in
Jersey governing the preparation and dissemination of financial
statements may differ from legislation in other
jurisdictions.
JTC PLC
INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT 30 JUNE
2024
UNAUDITED
Condensed consolidated interim income
statement
Condensed consolidated interim statement of
comprehensive income
Condensed consolidated interim balance
sheet
Condensed consolidated interim statement of
changes in equity
Condensed consolidated interim statement of cash
flows
Notes to the condensed consolidated interim
financial statements
1. Reporting
entity
2.
Significant changes in the current reporting
period
3. Basis of
preparation
4. Material
accounting policies and
standards
5. Critical
accounting estimates and
judgements
6. Operating
segments
7. Staff
expenses
8.
Non-underlying items
9. Other
losses
10.
Finance cost
11.
Income tax
12.
Earnings per
share
13.
Business combinations
14.
Goodwill and other intangible
assets
15.
Share capital and
reserves
16.
Contingent
consideration
17.
Loans and borrowings
18.
Financial risk and capital management
19.
Cash flow information
20.
Related party
transactions
21.
Contingencies
22.
Events occurring after the reporting
period
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM INCOME
STATEMENT
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
6
|
147,111
|
121,492
|
Staff expenses
|
7
|
(77,793)
|
(61,616)
|
Other operating expenses
|
|
(22,297)
|
(22,038)
|
Credit impairment losses
|
|
(989)
|
(1,466)
|
Other operating income
|
|
24
|
22
|
Share of profit of equity-accounted
investee
|
|
387
|
101
|
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortisation ("EBITDA")
|
|
46,443
|
36,495
|
|
|
|
|
Comprising:
|
|
|
|
Underlying EBITDA
|
|
49,148
|
40,174
|
Non-underlying items
|
8
|
(2,705)
|
(3,679)
|
|
|
46,443
|
36,495
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation and amortisation
|
|
(14,556)
|
(11,813)
|
Profit from
operating activities
|
|
31,887
|
24,682
|
|
|
|
|
Other losses
|
9
|
(645)
|
(5,530)
|
Finance income
|
|
674
|
323
|
Finance cost
|
10
|
(11,973)
|
(7,536)
|
Profit before
tax
|
|
19,943
|
11,939
|
|
|
|
|
Comprising:
|
|
|
|
Underlying profit before tax
|
|
23,120
|
19,708
|
Non-underlying items
|
8
|
(3,177)
|
(7,769)
|
|
|
19,943
|
11,939
|
|
|
|
|
Income tax
|
11
|
(1,453)
|
(753)
|
Profit for the period
|
|
18,490
|
11,186
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings per ordinary share ("EPS")
|
|
Pence
|
Pence
|
Basic EPS
|
12.1
|
11.41
|
7.61
|
Diluted EPS
|
12.2
|
11.32
|
7.54
|
The above condensed consolidated interim income
statement should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
notes.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE
INCOME
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
|
|
|
|
Profit for the period
|
|
18,490
|
11,186
|
|
|
|
|
Other comprehensive income
|
|
|
|
Items that may be reclassified to profit or
loss:
|
|
|
|
Exchange differences on translation of foreign
operations (net of tax)
|
18.1
|
1,694
|
(10,665)
|
Gains on cash flow hedges
|
|
2,758
|
-
|
Hedging gains reclassified to profit or
loss
|
10
|
(890)
|
-
|
Total comprehensive income for the period (net
of tax)
|
|
22,052
|
521
|
The above condensed consolidated interim
statement of comprehensive income should be read in conjunction
with the accompanying notes.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM BALANCE SHEET
£'000
|
Note
|
30.06.2024
|
31.12.2023
|
|
|
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and equipment
|
|
59,038
|
49,659
|
Goodwill
|
14.1
|
524,786
|
522,964
|
Other intangible assets
|
14.2
|
141,561
|
147,302
|
Derivative financial instruments
|
|
1,120
|
-
|
Investments
|
|
3,738
|
3,365
|
Other non-financial assets
|
|
3,029
|
2,981
|
Deferred tax assets
|
|
157
|
266
|
Total non-current assets
|
|
733,429
|
726,537
|
|
|
|
|
Trade receivables
|
|
36,058
|
32,071
|
Work in progress
|
|
14,513
|
11,615
|
Accrued income
|
|
28,103
|
26,574
|
Other non-financial assets
|
|
9,124
|
6,899
|
Other receivables
|
|
4,650
|
4,181
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
88,888
|
97,222
|
Total current assets
|
|
181,336
|
178,562
|
Total assets
|
|
914,765
|
905,099
|
|
|
|
|
Equity
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
15.1
|
1,677
|
1,655
|
Share premium
|
15.1
|
396,022
|
392,213
|
Own shares
|
15.2
|
(3,929)
|
(3,912)
|
Capital reserve
|
|
29,784
|
28,584
|
Translation reserve
|
|
10,635
|
8,941
|
Other reserves
|
|
1,119
|
(749)
|
Retained earnings
|
15.3
|
83,203
|
77,144
|
Total equity
|
|
518,511
|
503,876
|
|
|
|
|
Contingent consideration
|
16
|
23,736
|
49,794
|
Loans and borrowings
|
17
|
220,748
|
220,531
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
44,909
|
37,924
|
Deferred tax liabilities
|
|
8,356
|
9,474
|
Derivative financial instruments
|
|
-
|
749
|
Other non-financial liabilities
|
|
1,256
|
1,307
|
Provisions
|
|
2,665
|
2,200
|
Total non-current liabilities
|
|
301,670
|
321,979
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
|
19,818
|
19,991
|
Contingent consideration
|
16
|
31,445
|
26,906
|
Deferred income
|
6.4
|
33,038
|
19,639
|
Lease liabilities
|
|
6,404
|
6,117
|
Other non-financial liabilities
|
|
958
|
873
|
Current tax liabilities
|
|
2,714
|
5,346
|
Provisions
|
|
207
|
372
|
Total current liabilities
|
|
94,584
|
79,244
|
Total equity and liabilities
|
|
914,765
|
905,099
|
The above condensed consolidated interim
balance sheet should be read in conjunction with the accompanying
notes.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM
STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
|
|
For the period ended 30 June
2024
|
|
|
|
Attributable to owners of JTC
PLC
|
|
£'000
|
Note
|
Share capital
|
Share premium
|
Own shares
|
Capital reserve
|
Translation reserve
|
Other reserve
|
Retained earnings
|
Total equity
|
Balance at 1 January 2024
|
|
1,655
|
392,213
|
(3,912)
|
28,584
|
8,941
|
(749)
|
77,144
|
503,876
|
Profit for the period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
18,490
|
18,490
|
Other comprehensive income for the
period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,694
|
1,868
|
-
|
3,562
|
Total comprehensive income for the
period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,694
|
1,868
|
18,490
|
22,052
|
Issue of share capital
|
15.1
|
22
|
3,809
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
3,831
|
Share-based payment expense
|
7
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,200
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,200
|
Movement of own shares
|
15.2
|
-
|
-
|
(17)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(17)
|
Dividends paid
|
15.3
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(12,431)
|
(12,431)
|
Balance at 30
June 2024
|
|
1,677
|
396,022
|
(3,929)
|
29,784
|
10,635
|
1,119
|
83,203
|
518,511
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
For the period
ended 30 June 2023
|
|
|
Attributable to
owners of JTC PLC
|
£'000
|
|
Share capital
|
Share premium
|
Own shares
|
Capital reserve
|
Translation reserve
|
Other reserve
|
Retained earnings
|
Total equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance at 1 January 2023
|
|
1,491
|
290,435
|
(3,697)
|
24,361
|
15,979
|
-
|
71,648
|
400,217
|
Profit for the period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
11,186
|
11,186
|
Other comprehensive income for the
period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(10,665)
|
-
|
-
|
(10,665)
|
Total comprehensive
income for the period
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(10,665)
|
-
|
11,186
|
521
|
Issue of share capital
|
|
104
|
60,558
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
60,662
|
Share-based payment expense
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,293
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,293
|
Movement of own shares
|
|
-
|
-
|
(215)
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(215)
|
Dividends paid
|
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(10,058)
|
(10,058)
|
Balance at 30 June 2023
|
|
1,595
|
350,993
|
(3,912)
|
25,654
|
5,314
|
-
|
72,776
|
452,420
|
The above condensed consolidated interim
statement of changes in equity should be read in conjunction with
the accompanying notes.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STATEMENT OF CASH
FLOWS
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
|
|
|
|
Cash generated from operations
|
19.1
|
49,282
|
43,639
|
Income taxes paid
|
|
(3,399)
|
(2,130)
|
Net movement in cash generated from
operations
|
|
45,883
|
41,509
|
|
|
|
|
Comprising:
|
|
|
|
Underlying cash generated from
operations
|
|
51,013
|
45,219
|
Non-underlying cash items
|
19.2
|
(1,731)
|
(1,580)
|
|
|
49,282
|
43,639
|
|
|
|
|
Investing activities
|
|
|
|
Interest received
|
|
646
|
322
|
Payments for property, plant and
equipment
|
|
(3,295)
|
(777)
|
Payments for intangible assets
|
|
(3,081)
|
(1,462)
|
Payments for business combinations (net of cash
acquired)1
|
|
(21,634)
|
(1,392)
|
Payment to obtain or fulfil a
contract
|
|
(528)
|
(465)
|
Payment for investment
|
|
-
|
(250)
|
Loan to third party
|
|
-
|
(160)
|
Net cash used in investing
activities
|
|
(27,892)
|
(4,184)
|
|
|
|
|
Financing activities
|
|
|
|
Proceeds from the issue of shares
|
|
-
|
62,000
|
Share issuance costs
|
|
(32)
|
(1,713)
|
Dividends paid
|
|
(12,431)
|
(10,058)
|
Payment of loan arrangement fees
|
|
(420)
|
-
|
Repayment of loans and borrowings
|
|
-
|
(50,000)
|
Interest paid on loans and
borrowings
|
|
(8,399)
|
(4,668)
|
Receipts from derivative financial
instruments
|
|
891
|
-
|
Principal paid on lease liabilities
|
|
(3,487)
|
(3,040)
|
Interest paid on lease liabilities
|
|
(711)
|
(645)
|
Net cash used in financing
activities
|
|
(24,589)
|
(8,124)
|
|
|
|
|
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
(6,598)
|
29,201
|
|
|
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents at start of the
period
|
|
97,222
|
48,861
|
Effect of foreign exchange rate
changes
|
|
(1,736)
|
(2,336)
|
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the
period
|
|
88,888
|
75,726
|
1 Payments for business
combinations include the final earn-out payment in relation to SALI
(see note 16) and the net cash flow from the acquisition of
Blackheath (see note 13).
The above condensed consolidated interim
statement of cash flows should be read in conjunction with the
accompanying notes.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED INTERIM FINANCIAL
STATEMENTS
1. REPORTING ENTITY
JTC PLC ("the Company") was incorporated on 12
January 2018 and is domiciled in Jersey, Channel Islands. The
address of the Company's registered office is 28 Esplanade, St
Helier, Jersey.
The condensed consolidated interim financial
statements of the Company for the period from 1 January 2024 to 30
June 2024 comprise the Company and its subsidiaries (together "the
Group" or "JTC") and the Group's interest in an associate and
investments.
2. SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE CURRENT REPORTING
PERIOD
The business has continued to perform well
during the six months to 30 June 2024. Whilst the economic outlook
remains somewhat uncertain, inflationary pressures have eased and
the business has continued to meet the expectations of the
Board.
There were no significant transactions or
events during the period that affected the financial position and
performance other than the acquisition of Blackheath which is
disclosed in note 13.
For more detail about the Group's performance
and financial position, please refer to the Chief Financial
Officer's review.
3. BASIS OF PREPARATION
The condensed consolidated interim financial
statements (the "interim financial statements") for the six months
to 30 June 2024 have been prepared in accordance with IAS 34
'Interim Financial Reporting' as adopted by the European Union
("EU"), the Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules sourcebook
of the United Kingdom's Financial Conduct Authority and Companies
(Jersey) Law 1991. The interim financial statements are presented
in pounds sterling (£), which is the functional and reporting
currency of the Company. They do not include all the information
required for a complete set of International Financial Reporting
Standards ("IFRS") financial statements. Accordingly, the interim
financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual
consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December
2023, which have been prepared in accordance with IFRS as adopted
by the EU. Selected explanatory notes are included to explain
events and transactions that are significant to an understanding of
the changes in the Group's financial position and performance since
the last annual consolidated financial statements as at and for the
year ended 31 December 2023.
The Group has adopted the going concern basis
of accounting in preparing the interim financial statements. The
Directors are confident that the Group will meet its day-to-day
working capital requirements through its cash-generating activities
and bank facilities. The Group's forecasts and projections, taking
account of possible changes in trading performance, show that the
Group should be able to operate within the level of its current
facilities. The Directors therefore have a reasonable expectation
that the Group has adequate resources to continue in operational
existence for the foreseeable future, being at least 12 months from
the date of approval of these interim financial
statements.
These interim financial statements were
approved by the Board on 12 September 2024 and have been reviewed
but not audited by the Group's external auditors.
4. MATERIAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND
STANDARDS
The accounting policies applied in these
interim financial statements are the same as those applied in the
Group's consolidated financial statements as at and for the year
ended 31 December 2023.
To the extent relevant, all IFRS standards and
interpretations including amendments that were in issue and
effective from 1 January 2024, have been adopted by the Group from
1 January 2024. All new amendments, effect from 1 January 2024, do
not have a material impact on these interim financial statements.
The Group has not early adopted any standard, interpretation or
amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective.
5. CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND
JUDGEMENTS
In the application of the Group's accounting
policies, Management are required to make judgements, estimates and
assumptions about the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities
that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and
associated assumptions are regularly evaluated based on historical
experience, current circumstances, expectation of future events and
other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results
may differ from these estimates.
In preparing these interim financial
statements, all the significant judgments made by Management in
applying the Group's accounting policies and the key sources of
estimation uncertainty applied are disclosed in Note 28.2 of the
2023 Annual Report.
6. OPERATING SEGMENTS
6.1. BASIS OF SEGMENTATION
The Group has a multi-jurisdictional footprint
and the core focus of operations is on providing services to its
institutional and private client base, with revenues from
alternative asset managers, financial institutions, corporates,
high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and family
office clients. Recognised revenue is generated from external
customers.
The Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer are together the Chief Operating Decision Makers of the
Group and determine the appropriate business segments to monitor
financial performance. Each segment is defined as a set of business
activities generating a revenue stream determined by divisional
responsibility and the management information reviewed by the
Board. They have determined that the Group has two reportable
segments: these are Institutional Client Services ("ICS") and
Private Client Services ("PCS").
6.2. SEGMENTAL
INFORMATION
The table below shows the segmental information
provided to the Board for the two reportable segments (ICS and PCS)
on an underlying basis:
|
ICS
|
PCS
|
Total
|
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Revenue
|
87,514
|
80,692
|
59,597
|
40,800
|
147,111
|
121,492
|
Direct staff expenses
|
(38,645)
|
(33,729)
|
(23,700)
|
(15,672)
|
(62,345)
|
(49,401)
|
Other direct expenses
|
(1,730)
|
(1,408)
|
(1,433)
|
(1,649)
|
(3,163)
|
(3,057)
|
Indirect staff expenses
|
(9,076)
|
(8,153)
|
(4,722)
|
(3,498)
|
(13,798)
|
(11,651)
|
Other operating expenses
|
(11,198)
|
(11,931)
|
(7,869)
|
(5,401)
|
(19,067)
|
(17,332)
|
Other
|
15
|
15
|
395
|
108
|
410
|
123
|
Underlying EBITDA
|
26,880
|
25,485
|
22,268
|
14,688
|
49,148
|
40,174
|
Underlying EBITDA margin %
|
30.7%
|
31.6%
|
37.4%
|
36.0%
|
33.4%
|
33.1%
|
The Board evaluates segmental
performance based on revenue, underlying EBITDA and underlying
EBITDA margin. Profit before tax is not used to measure the
performance of the individual segments as items such as
depreciation, amortisation of intangibles, other losses (including
foreign exchange movement on revaluation of intercompany loans) and
finance costs are not allocated to individual segments. Consistent
with the aforementioned reasoning, assets and liabilities are not
reviewed regularly on a by-segment basis and are therefore not
included in segmental information.
6.3. GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Revenue generated by contracting subsidiary by
their location is as follows:
|
H1 2024
£'000
|
H1 2023
£'000
|
Increase
|
|
£'000
|
%
|
UK & Channel Islands
|
66,715
|
64,675
|
2,040
|
3.2%
|
US
|
46,366
|
25,279
|
21,087
|
83.4%
|
Rest of Europe
|
19,683
|
18,613
|
1,070
|
5.7%
|
Rest of the World
|
14,347
|
12,925
|
1,422
|
11.0%
|
Total revenue
|
147,111
|
121,492
|
25,619
|
21.1%
|
6.4. SEASONALITY
There is no material change for seasonality or
cyclicality in the condensed consolidated interim income statement.
The condensed consolidated balance sheet is impacted where annual
fees have been billed in advance at the start of the calendar year
and as a result, deferred income is higher at 30 June than at 31
December.
7. STAFF EXPENSES
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Salaries and Directors' fees
|
63,630
|
50,163
|
Employer-related taxes and other staff-related
costs
|
5,769
|
4,850
|
Other short-term employee benefits
|
3,959
|
2,801
|
Pension employee benefits
|
3,235
|
2,461
|
Share-based payments
|
1,200
|
1,341
|
Total staff expenses
|
77,793
|
61,616
|
8. NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
EBITDA
|
46,443
|
36,495
|
Non-underlying items within EBITDA:
|
|
|
Acquisition and integration
costs1
|
2,273
|
3,495
|
Office start-up costs2
|
220
|
141
|
Other3
|
212
|
43
|
Total non-underlying items within
EBITDA
|
2,705
|
3,679
|
Underlying EBITDA
|
49,148
|
40,174
|
|
|
|
Profit before tax
|
19,943
|
11,939
|
Total non-underlying items within
EBITDA
|
2,705
|
3,679
|
Loss/(gain) on revaluation of contingent
consideration4
|
258
|
(167)
|
Gain on disposal of
subsidiary5
|
(72)
|
-
|
Foreign exchange losses6
|
286
|
4,257
|
Total non-underlying items within profit before
tax
|
3,177
|
7,769
|
Underlying profit before tax
|
23,120
|
19,708
|
1 Acquisition and integration costs
include deal and tax advisory fees, legal and professional fees,
staff reorganisation costs and other integration costs. This
includes acquisition-related share-based payment awards granted to
act as retention tools for key management and/or to recruit senior
management to support various acquisitions. Acquisition and
integration costs are typically incurred in the first two years
following acquisition.
2 Office start-up includes up-front
investment in personnel and infrastructure which is required in
advance of trading.
3 Includes expenses in relation to a
change in making annual bonus awards in cash rather than shares
(see note 36.3(B) of the 2023 Annual Report for further
information) and legal costs relating to a regulatory action from
the Dutch Central Bank.
4 Loss/(gain) on the revaluation of
liability-classified contingent consideration payable for perfORM
(see note 16).
5 On 1 March 2024, the Group sold its
call option to purchase Global Tax Support
T.V.
6 Foreign exchange losses that relate to
the revaluation of inter-company loans. Management consider these
to be non-underlying as they are unrealisable movements as the
loans are eliminated upon consolidation.
9. OTHER LOSSES
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
(Loss)/gain on revaluation of contingent
consideration
|
16
|
(258)
|
167
|
Gain on disposal of subsidiary
|
8(5)
|
72
|
-
|
Foreign exchange losses
|
18.1
|
(459)
|
(5,697)
|
Total other losses
|
|
(645)
|
(5,530)
|
10. FINANCE COST
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Bank loan interest
|
7,713
|
4,347
|
Gain on cash flow hedge reclassified from other
comprehensive income
|
(890)
|
-
|
Amortisation of loan arrangement
fees
|
637
|
465
|
Unwinding of net present value ("NPV")
discounts
|
3,799
|
2,271
|
Other finance expense
|
714
|
453
|
Total finance cost
|
11,973
|
7,536
|
11. INCOME TAX
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Current tax
|
2,289
|
1,635
|
Deferred tax
|
(836)
|
(882)
|
Total income tax expense
|
1,453
|
753
|
12. EARNINGS PER SHARE
The Group calculates basic, diluted and
adjusted underlying basic EPS. The results can be summarised as
follows:
Pence
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Basic EPS
|
12.1
|
11.41
|
7.61
|
Diluted EPS
|
12.2
|
11.32
|
7.54
|
Adjusted underlying basic EPS
|
12.3
|
19.87
|
18.16
|
12.1. BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Profit for the
period
|
18,490
|
11,186
|
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
Issued ordinary shares at 1 January
|
161,445
|
146,001
|
Effect of shares issued to acquire business
combinations
|
449
|
13
|
Effect of movement in treasury shares
held
|
185
|
232
|
Effect of equity placing
|
-
|
829
|
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares
(basic)
|
162,079
|
147,075
|
Basic EPS (pence)
|
11.41
|
7.61
|
12.2. DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Profit for the
period
|
|
18,490
|
11,186
|
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares
(basic):
|
162,079
|
147,075
|
Effect of movement in share-based
payments
|
1,253
|
1,187
|
Weighted
average number of Ordinary shares (diluted)
|
163,332
|
148,262
|
Diluted EPS
(pence)
|
11.32
|
7.54
|
12.3. ADJUSTED UNDERLYING BASIC EARNINGS PER
SHARE
£'000
|
Note
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Profit for the period
|
|
18,490
|
11,186
|
Non-underlying items
|
8
|
3,177
|
7,769
|
Amortisation of customer relationships,
acquired software and brands
|
|
7,930
|
6,548
|
Amortisation of loan arrangement
fees
|
10
|
637
|
465
|
Unwinding of NPV discounts for contingent
consideration
|
|
2,811
|
1,627
|
Temporary tax differences arising on
amortisation of customer relationships, acquired software and
brands
|
11
|
(836)
|
(882)
|
Adjusted underlying profit for the
period
|
|
32,209
|
26,713
|
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
No. of shares (thousands)
|
Weighted average number of Ordinary shares
(basic)
|
162,079
|
147,075
|
Adjusted underlying basic EPS
(pence)
|
19.87
|
18.16
|
Adjusted underlying basic EPS is an
alternative performance measure which reflects the underlying
activities of the Group. The following definition is not consistent
with the requirements of IAS 33.
The Group's definition of underlying basic EPS
reflects the profit for the period adjusted to remove the impact of
non-underlying items (see note 8). Additionally, a number of other
items relating to the Group's acquisition activities including
amortisation of acquired intangible assets and associated deferred
tax, impairment of acquired intangible assets, amortisation of loan
arrangement fees and unwinding of NPV discounts in relation to
contingent consideration are removed to present an adjusted
underlying basic EPS which is used more widely by external
investors and analysts.
13. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS
BLACKHEATH CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLP
("BLACKHEATH")
On 24 November 2023, JTC entered into an
agreement to acquire 100% of the partnership interest in
Blackheath, a UK limited liability partnership that provides
management and regulatory oversight services to investment funds
and offers ManCo services as an Alternative Investment Fund Manager
("AIFM"). The acquisition complements JTC's existing AIFM Global
Solutions businesses and brings additional scale to existing fund
administration and depositary services in the UK.
Following regulatory approval for the
transaction, cash consideration was transferred on 1 March 2024, as
well as the equity element of initial consideration. The results of
the acquired business have been consolidated from 1 March 2024 as
Management concluded this was the date that control was obtained by
the Group.
The acquired business contributed revenues of
£0.16m and underlying profit before tax (before central costs have
been applied) of £0.01m to the Group for the period from 1 March
2024 to 30 June 2024. If the business had been acquired on 1
January 2024, the Group's consolidated revenue and underlying
profit before tax for the period would have been £147.19m and
£23.13m.
(A) IDENTIFIABLE ASSETS ACQUIRED AND
LIABILITIES ASSUMED ON ACQUISITION
The following table shows, at fair value, the
recognised assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the
acquisition date:
£'000
|
Book value at acquisition
|
Adjustments
|
Fair value
|
Property, plant and
equipment1
|
2
|
9
|
11
|
Intangible assets - customer
relationships2
|
-
|
145
|
145
|
Trade receivables
|
54
|
-
|
54
|
Other receivables
|
48
|
-
|
48
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
223
|
-
|
223
|
Assets
|
327
|
154
|
481
|
|
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
72
|
-
|
72
|
Lease liabilities1
|
-
|
9
|
9
|
Liabilities
|
72
|
9
|
81
|
|
|
|
|
Total identifiable net assets
|
255
|
145
|
400
|
1 The acquired business leases office
premises; an adjustment was recognised to account for the lease
liability which is measured at the present value of the remaining
lease payments with a corresponding right-of-use asset.
2 On 1 March 2024, the Group recognised
customer relationship intangible assets for Blackheath of £0.15m.
The useful economic life of ten years was based on the historical
length of relationships as well as observed attrition rates for
companies operating in a similar industry
(B) CONSIDERATION
Total consideration is satisfied by the
following:
£'000
|
|
Cash consideration
|
772
|
Equity instruments1
|
147
|
Fair value of total consideration at
acquisition
|
919
|
1 On 4 March 2024, the Company issued
18,435 Ordinary shares at fair value to satisfy the equity element
of the initial consideration (see note 15.1).
(C) GOODWILL
£'000
|
|
Total consideration
|
919
|
Less: fair value of identifiable net
assets
|
(400)
|
Goodwill
|
519
|
Goodwill is represented by assets that do not
qualify for separate recognition or other factors.
(D) IMPACT ON CASH FLOW
£'000
|
|
Cash consideration
|
772
|
Less: cash balance acquired
|
(223)
|
Net cash outflow from acquisition
|
549
|
(E) ACQUISITION-RELATED COSTS
The Group incurred acquisition-related costs of
£0.02m which have been recognised within other operating expenses
in the Group's condensed consolidated income statement and are
treated as non-underlying items to calculate underlying EBITDA (see
note 8)
14. GOODWILL AND OTHER INTANGIBLE
ASSETS
14.1 GOODWILL
The aggregate carrying amounts of goodwill
allocated to each cash-generating unit ("CGU") is as
follows:
CGU
|
Note
|
Balance at
1 Jan 2024
£'000
|
Business combinations £'000
|
Exchange differences £'000
|
Balance at 30 June
2024
£'000
|
Jersey
|
|
66,104
|
-
|
-
|
66,104
|
Guernsey
|
|
10,761
|
-
|
-
|
10,761
|
BVI
|
|
752
|
-
|
-
|
752
|
Switzerland
|
|
2,556
|
-
|
(81)
|
2,475
|
Cayman
|
|
237
|
-
|
2
|
239
|
Luxembourg
|
|
28,727
|
-
|
(675)
|
28,052
|
Netherlands
|
|
14,734
|
-
|
(378)
|
14,356
|
Dubai
|
|
1,870
|
-
|
12
|
1,882
|
Mauritius
|
|
2,518
|
-
|
19
|
2,537
|
US - ICS
|
|
194,466
|
-
|
1,371
|
195,837
|
US - SDTC
|
|
171,952
|
-
|
1,210
|
173,162
|
US - NYPTC
|
|
7,398
|
-
|
52
|
7,450
|
Ireland
|
|
8,896
|
-
|
(229)
|
8,667
|
UK
|
13
|
11,993
|
519
|
-
|
12,512
|
Total
|
|
522,964
|
519
|
1,303
|
524,786
|
Goodwill is not amortised but is
tested for impairment annually, or more frequently if events or
changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not
be recoverable. With the exception of US - SDTC and US - NYPTC,
goodwill is monitored at a jurisdictional level by Management.
Goodwill is allocated to CGUs for the purpose of impairment testing
and this allocation is based on the CGU that is expected to benefit
from the business combination in which the goodwill
arose.
At 30 June 2024, Management concluded that no
impairment indicators were present for any of the CGUs.
14.2 OTHER INTANGIBLE ASSETS
Various impairment indicators were evaluated
for other intangible assets, including their expected performance
and market factors. Management concluded that no impairment
indicators were present at 30 June 2024.
15. SHARE CAPITAL AND RESERVES
15.1. SHARE CAPITAL AND SHARE
PREMIUM
Movements in Ordinary
shares
|
Note
|
No. of shares
(thousands)
|
Par value
£'000
|
Share premium
£'000
|
At 1 January 2024
|
|
165,521
|
1,655
|
392,213
|
PLC EBT issue1
|
|
1,660
|
17
|
-
|
Acquisition of SALI - settlement of
earn-out
|
16
|
466
|
5
|
3,694
|
Acquisition of Blackheath - initial
consideration
|
13
|
18
|
-
|
147
|
Less: Cost of share issuance
|
|
-
|
-
|
(32)
|
Movement in the period
|
|
2,144
|
22
|
3,809
|
At 30 June 2024
|
|
167,665
|
1,677
|
396,022
|
1 On 30 May 2024, the Company issued an
additional 1,660,056 Ordinary shares to the Company's Employee
Benefit Trust ("PLC EBT") in order for PLC EBT to satisfy
anticipated future exercises of awards granted to
beneficiaries.
15.2. OWN SHARES
Own shares represent the shares of the Company
that are unallocated and held by PLC EBT for the benefit of its
employees. Own shares have been excluded from the weighted average
number of Ordinary shares for the purpose of calculating EPS as
they are not outstanding.
|
No. of shares
(thousands)
|
PLC EBT
£'000
|
At 1 January 2024
|
4,017
|
3,912
|
PSP awards
|
(311)
|
-
|
Other awards
|
(30)
|
-
|
PLC EBT issue
|
1,660
|
17
|
Movement in the period
|
1,319
|
17
|
At 30 June 2024
|
5,336
|
3,929
|
15.3. RETAINED EARNINGS AND
DIVIDENDS
The Retained earnings includes accumulated
profits and losses.
The final dividend for the year 2023 of 7.67p
per qualifying Ordinary share was paid on 28 June 2024
An interim dividend of 4.3p per qualifying
ordinary share (2023: 3.5p per qualifying Ordinary share) was
declared by the Board on 12 September 2024 and will be payable on
25 October 2024 to shareholders on the record on 27 September 2024.
The interim dividend has not been recognised as a liability as at
30 June 2024.
16. CONTINGENT CONSIDERATION
Contingent consideration payables are
discounted to NPV, split between current and non-current and are
due as follows:
£'000
|
30.06.2024
|
31.12.2023
|
Acquisition
|
|
|
SDTC1
|
23,736
|
45,989
|
perfORM2
|
-
|
3,805
|
Total non-current contingent
consideration
|
23,736
|
49,794
|
|
|
|
SALI3
|
-
|
24,644
|
SDTC1
|
26,628
|
1,536
|
perfORM2
|
4,421
|
-
|
CNFS4
|
396
|
-
|
Sterling
|
-
|
726
|
Total current contingent
consideration
|
31,445
|
26,906
|
1 Based on Management's assessment of
the forecast revenue for the remainder of the earn-out period, it
is estimated that the earn-out will be met in full and the
contingent consideration payable will continue to be £54.7m
($70.0m) which has been discounted to its present value of £50.4m
($63.7m).
2 The earn-out for perfORM is calculated
based on a multiple of their underlying EBITDA for the year ending
31 December 2024. This is payable in an equal split of cash and JTC
PLC Ordinary shares; the 50% payable in shares is
liability-classified contingent consideration as this is settled by
a variable number of shares. In accordance with IAS 32, Management
are required to update the fair value at each reporting
date.
At the acquisition
date, Management forecast the underlying EBITDA for perfORM and
estimated that £4.48m would be due. At 30 June 2024, Management
revisited their forecast and reviewed the performance of the
business and have identified no evidence to indicate a material
adjustment was required to the amount due. The fair value of the
282,854 JTC PLC Ordinary shares payable at the end of the earn-out
period was updated using the Monte Carlo simulation which increased
the share price applied to £9.90 (31.12.2023: £8.47).
The simulation is
based on JTC's share price at 30 June 2024, factoring in historical
volatility and projected dividend payments, and is then discounted
using an appropriate risk free rate. The updated share price
resulted in a loss on revaluation of £0.26m (see note 9) as the
fair value of the contingent consideration payable in JTC Ordinary
shares increased to £2.8m (31.12.23: £2.4m). The revalued earn-out
contingent consideration of £5.0m (cash £2.2m/ JTC PLC Ordinary
shares £2.8m) has then been discounted to a present value of
£4.4m.
3 On 10 January 2024, having
successfully met earn-out targets for the two year period following
acquisition, the earn-out for SALI was settled in full. This
included a cash payment of £21.1m ($26.8m) and the issue of 465,516
JTC Ordinary shares, equivalent to £3.7m ($4.7m).
4 On 6 March 2024, JTC entered into a
facilitation and referral agreement ("F&R agreement") and an
outsourcing agreement with Cayman National Fund Services Ltd
("CNFS"), whereby CNFS will, on an exclusive basis, refer,
introduce and recommend its clients to JTC as a replacement
provider of services. Such services include initial onboarding and
client due diligence services and subsequent provision of fund,
director, company management and administration
services.
The fair value of the
customer relationship acquired is the consideration due, which is
based on the revenue attributable to each client successfully
introduced. The assets are being amortised over their estimated
useful economic life of 10 years.
JTC made an initial
payment of £0.12m ($0.15m) following the signing of the F&R
agreement. The remaining balance of £0.4m ($0.5m) will become due
on 6 March 2025 subject to achieving the successful introduction of
clients resulting in an agreed target of client revenue being
transferred to JTC.
17. LOANS AND BORROWINGS
£'000
|
30.06.2024
|
31.12.2023
|
Non-current
|
|
|
Bank loan
|
220,748
|
220,531
|
Total loans and borrowings
|
220,748
|
220,531
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
30.06.2024
|
31.12.2023
|
Facility
|
Currency
|
Initial
termination date
|
Interest
rate
|
|
|
Term facility
|
GBP
|
4 December 2026
|
SONIA + 1.65% margin
|
100,000
|
100,000
|
Revolving credit facility
|
GBP
|
4 December 2026
|
SONIA + 1.65% margin
|
123,662
|
123,662
|
Total
principal value
|
|
|
|
223,662
|
223,662
|
Issue costs
|
|
|
|
(2,914)
|
(3,131)
|
Total bank
loans
|
|
|
|
220,748
|
220,531
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
18. FINANCIAL RISK AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
PRINCIPAL FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
All financial assets and liabilities are
recognised at amortised cost with the exception of the derivative
financial instrument and the liability-classified contingent
consideration for perfORM (see note 16) which are measured at fair
value.
Management considered the following fair value
hierarchy levels in line with IFRS 13.
Level 1 - Inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted)
in active markets for identical assets and liabilities
Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices
included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset and
liability, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3 - Inputs are unobservable inputs for
the asset or liability.
The liability-classified contingent
consideration payable of £2.8m for perfORM (31 December 2023:
£1.9m) is classified under Level 3 as per the valuation methodology
outlined in note 16, and the derivative financial instrument is
classified under Level 2 and calculated as the present value of the
estimated future cash flows based on observable yield
curves.
18.1. FOREIGN CURRENCY RISK
The Group's exposure to the risk of changes in
exchange rates relates primarily to the Group's operating
activities when the revenue or expenses are denominated in a
different currency from the Group's functional and presentation
currency of pounds sterling ("£"). For trading entities that
principally affect the profit or net assets of the Group, the
exposure continues to be mainly from Euro, US dollar and South
African rand. The Group's bank loans are denominated in £ although
the facility is multicurrency. As disclosed in note 29.1 of the JTC
Annual Report and Accounts 2023, Management continue to monitor the
effectiveness of the Group's policy to minimise foreign currency
risk and regularly assess if a foreign currency hedge is
appropriate.
For the six months to 30 June 2024, mainly due
to the Euro and United States dollar foreign currency exchange rate
movements, the Group recognised the following:
· a foreign
exchange gain of £1.7m in other comprehensive income (H1 2023:
£10.7m loss) upon translating the foreign operations to our
functional currency
· a foreign
exchange loss of £0.5m (H1 2023: £5.7m loss) in the condensed
consolidated income statement upon the retranslation of monetary
assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies (see note
9)
18.2. INTEREST RATE RISK
On 4 December 2023, the Group entered into a
two year interest rate swap on £180m of its total drawn borrowings
with a blended swap rate of 4.237% (excluding margin). At 30 June
2024, the Group held 80% of fixed rate debt and 20% of floating
rate from its total borrowings of £223.7m. The interest risk on the
floating rate debt is managed by maintaining an appropriate
leverage ratio.
The Group continues to apply hedge accounting
in accordance with IFRS 9 'Financial Instruments' and has assessed
the hedging instrument to remain highly effective.
18.3. CREDIT RISK
The Group's principal exposure to credit risk
arises from contracts with customers and therefore from the
following financial assets: trade receivables, work in progress and
accrued income (together "customer receivables") as well as cash
and cash equivalents and other receivables. Following an analysis
on a customer-by customer basis, we have seen no change in our
customers ability to meet their payment obligations and have not
incorporated updated forward-looking information into measuring
expected credit losses as at 30 June 2024. Our credit risk
management as set out in note 29.2 of the JTC Annual Report and
Accounts 2023 remains unchanged.
18.4. LIQUIDITY RISK
There has been no change in our liquidity risk
assessment compared to our disclosure in note 29.3 of the 2023
Annual
Report.
18.5. CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
The Group's objective for managing capital is
unchanged from that disclosed in Note 30 of the 2023 Annual
Report.
In accordance with the Group's capital risk
management objective, the financial covenants attached to the bank
borrowings continue to be met.
19. CASH FLOW INFORMATION
19.1. OPERATING CASH FLOWS
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Operating profit
|
31,887
|
24,682
|
Adjustments:
|
|
|
Depreciation of property, plant and
equipment
|
5,035
|
3,883
|
Amortisation of intangible assets and assets
recognised from costs to obtain or fulfil a contract
|
9,522
|
7,930
|
Equity-settled share-based payment
expense
|
1,200
|
1,293
|
Share of profit of equity-accounted
investee
|
(387)
|
(101)
|
Operating cash flows before movements in
working capital
|
47,257
|
37,687
|
|
|
|
Net changes in working capital:
|
|
|
Increase in receivables
|
(11,275)
|
(6,662)
|
Increase in payables
|
13,300
|
12,614
|
Cash generated from operations
|
49,282
|
43,639
|
19.2. NON-UNDERLYING ITEMS WITHIN
NET CASH FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Net cash from operating activities
|
49,282
|
43,639
|
Non-underlying items:
|
|
|
Acquisition and integration costs
|
1,406
|
1,439
|
Office start-up
|
220
|
141
|
Other
|
105
|
-
|
Total non-underlying items within net cash from
operating activities
|
1,731
|
1,580
|
Underlying net cash from operating
activities
|
51,013
|
45,219
|
20. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Balances and transactions between the Company
and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, have been
eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in this
note.
The Group has defined key management personnel
as Directors and members of senior management who have the
authority and responsibility to plan, direct and control the
activities of the Group. The remuneration of key management
personnel in aggregate for each of the specified categories is as
follows:
£'000
|
H1 2024
|
H1 2023
|
Salaries and other short-term employee
benefits
|
1,631
|
1,250
|
Post-employment and other long-term
benefits
|
61
|
60
|
Share-based payments
|
829
|
801
|
Total payments
|
2,521
|
2,111
|
21. CONTINGENCIES
The Group operates in a number of jurisdictions
and enjoys a close working relationship with all of its regulators.
It is not unusual for the Group to find itself in discussion with
regulators in relation to past events. With any such discussions
there is inherent uncertainty in the ultimate outcome but the Board
currently does not believe that any such current discussions are
likely to result in an outcome that would have a material impact
upon the Group.
22. EVENTS OCCURRING AFTER THE REPORTING
PERIOD
22.1 ACQUISITION OF HANWAY ADVISORY LIMITED
("HANWAY")
On 1 July 2024, JTC completed the acquisition
of 100% of the share capital of Hanway, a UK based company offering
corporate governance, fund administration and accounting services
to UK listed investment companies. The initial cash consideration
of £0.75m was paid on completion with contingent consideration
payable subject to meeting performance targets for the period to 30
June 2025 (up to a total maximum consideration amount of £2.0m).
This acquisition brings further scale to JTC's UK business and
existing UK listed fund activities.
22.2 GRANTING OF SHARE AWARDS UNDER THE
EMPLOYEE INCENTIVE PLAN
On 25 July 2024, following the successful
completion of the Galaxy era business plan, a total of 4,748,909
JTC Ordinary shares were granted to all eligible employees of the
Group
22.3 ACQUISITION OF FIRST REPUBLIC TRUST CO OF
DELAWARE ("FRTC")
On 31 July 2024, JTC completed the acquisition
of 100% of the share capital of FRTC, a US based company offering
trust administration services to high-net-worth individuals. The
cash consideration of $24.8m was paid on completion and was partly
funded (£13.5m) through a drawdown of the revolving credit
facility. The acquisition complements JTC's position as the leading
independent provider of trust services in the US, bringing scale to
this large and fast-growing market.
22.4 ACQUISITION OF FFP (HOLDINGS) LIMITED
("FFP")
On 24 June 2024, JTC announced the proposed
acquisition of FFP, a privately owned company which is
headquartered in the Cayman Islands. FFP provides a range of
specialist fiduciary, restructuring, trustee, fund administration
and corporate services to clients globally with a focus on complex
engagements including restructurings, insolvencies and disputes,
for a maximum consideration of $110.0m. This will be satisfied by
$70.0m initial consideration upon completion; $56.0m in cash and
$14.0m in JTC Ordinary shares with a further earn-out up to $40.0m,
payable in cash and JTC Ordinary shares subject to the achievement
of specific performance targets for the period ending 31 December
2024. The acquisition is subject to final regulatory approvals and
satisfaction of the other customary closing conditions and will be
funded from the Group's cash reserves and existing debt
facilities.
22.5 ACQUISITION OF THE BUCK UK AND EUROPEAN
SHARE PLAN ADMINISTRATION AND TRUSTEE BUSINESSES FROM ARTHUR J.
GALLAGHER & CO ("BUCK")
On 19 August 2024, JTC announced the proposed
acquisition of Buck which provides fully outsourced administration
and trustee services to a blue-chip global client base. Buck covers
a full range of employee share plans and has operations in the UK,
Guernsey and Germany. The proposed acquisition will complement and
enhance JTC's existing Employer Solutions platform and will
accelerate the growth of the Group's share plan trustee and
administration service offering.
22.6 ACQUISITION OF GLOBAL FIDUCIARY AND TRUST
ADMINISTRATION SERVICES BUSINESSES FROM CITIGROUP INC. ("CITI
TRUST")
On 16 September 2024, JTC announced the
proposed acquisition of Citi Trust for a total consideration of
$80m. Citi Trust is one of the oldest and most established
fiduciary businesses globally and has extensive cross-border
experience operating within high-quality trust
jurisdictions.
The proposed acquisition will be highly
complementary to JTC's existing footprint, bolstering several key
growth jurisdictions including the US, which becomes JTC's largest
jurisdiction by revenue.
The acquisition is subject to customary
regulatory approvals in all relevant jurisdictions and will be
funded through the Group's existing cash reserves and committed
debt facilities.
For the acquisitions disclosed within 22.1,
22.3, 22.4, 22.5 and 22.6, at the date the interim financial
statements were authorised for issue, it was impracticable to
disclose the information required by IFRS 3 'Business Combinations'
as some of the required information was not available.