TIDMLTG
RNS Number : 5978N
Learning Technologies Group PLC
26 September 2023
26 September 2023
Learning Technologies Group plc
HALF YEAR RESULTS 2023
Resilient performance with high levels of visibility from
recurring revenues
FY23 performance expected to be in line with analyst
estimates
Learning Technologies Group plc, a global market leader in
digital learning and talent management, announces half year results
for the six months ended 30 June 2023. All figures relate to that
period unless otherwise stated.
Strategic and operational highlights
-- Resilient, diversified business model reflected in long-term
contract wins for Software & Platforms and wins for major
customers in Content & Services
-- Solid performance from SaaS and long-term contracts which
account for 72% of H1 2023 revenue (H1 2022: 71%)
-- As indicated previously, challenging macroeconomic backdrop
continues to impact transactional and project-based work
-- One-off issues relating to LEO integration within GP Strategies
resolved in July, as previously indicated, with significant
improvement in major KPIs in GPLX since Q2
Financial highlights
-- Reported revenues up 2% to GBP284.6 million (H1 2022:
GBP277.8 million continuing operations)
-- Flat revenues on an organic constant currency basis: Content
& Services up 2% and Software & Platforms down 5%
-- Adjusted EBIT slightly down 1% to GBP43.1 million (H1
2022: GBP43.6 million continuing operations)
-- Good cash performance with conversion of 65% (last year
60%)
-- Ongoing deleveraging supporting a planned voluntary debt
repayment of $25 million on 29 September 2023, for an
expected $0.4 million interest benefit in Q4 2023
-- Robust balance sheet with net debt of GBP108.4 million
at 30 June 2023 (31 December 2022: GBP119.8 million) and
net debt: EBITDA ratio of 0.9x (FY 2022: 1.1x), allowing
for select accretive acquisitions
Dividend
-- The Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of
0.45 pence per share (H1 2022: 0.45 pence).
Current trading and outlook
-- We continue to see resilience in our SaaS and long-term
contracts, offset by lower transactional volumes in line
with the broader macroeconomic environment as well as
lower demand in GP Strategies, notably in China
-- GP Strategies is expected to deliver a significantly improved
exit run-rate EBIT margin of c.17%, driven by improvements
to GPLX and a commercial transformation programme
-- FY23 performance expected to be in line with analyst estimates,
including updated expectations for FX and share-based
payments(1)
(1) Median company-compiled analyst estimates, as at 14
September 2023, are GBP560.2m revenues and GBP98.0m Adjusted EBIT
for FY23
Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive Officer of Learning
Technologies Group, said:
"LTG has delivered a resilient performance in a challenging
macro backdrop, underpinned by our SaaS and long-term contracts,
which represent 72% of H1 2023 revenues. Revenues, on an organic
constant currency basis, were flat as a result of lower
transactional volumes, as indicated in July.
LTG remains uniquely placed to capture growth opportunities in a
>$100 billion addressable market as a result of our scale and
breadth of offering in digital learning and talent management. Our
balance sheet supports investment and accretive acquisitions that
fit with our business model, whilst also allowing us to make a
voluntary debt repayment. Demand from organisations to recruit,
motivate and retain the best talent, allied with improvements from
our commercial transformation programme in GP Strategies, support
our confidence of meeting analyst estimates for FY23."
Financial summary:
Continuing Reported
GBPm unless otherwise stated H1 2023 H1 2022 Change H1 2022
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Revenue 284.6 277.8 2% 281.8
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Organic growth* 0.1% 5.2%
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Software & Platforms organic growth (4.7)% 6.5%
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Content & Services organic growth 1.8% 1.6%
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
SaaS & long-term contracts 72% 71%
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Adjusted EBIT 43.1 43.6 (1)% 44.1
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Adjusted EBIT margin 15.1% 15.7% 15.6%
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Statutory PBT 16.5 18.0 (8)% 18.5
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Adj. Diluted EPS (pence) 3.293 3.666 (10)% 3.715
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Basic EPS (pence) - continuing & discontinued 1.376 1.848
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Net Debt / (Cash) 108.4 145.3
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
Dividend (pence) 0.45 0.45
-------- ---------- ------ ---------
* Organic growth on a constant currency basis
Analyst and investor presentation:
LTG will host an analyst and investor webcast at 09:00 today, 26
September 2023. The registration link can be found below:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6277184884607235423
Telephone dial-in details: +44 330 221 9922 ( +1 (951) 384-3421
for international dial-in).
Access Code: 838-970-977
Enquiries:
Learning Technologies Group plc
Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive
Kath Kearney-Croft, Chief Financial Officer +44 (0)20 7832 3440
Numis Securities Limited (NOMAD and Corporate Broker)
Nick Westlake, Ben Stoop, Tejas Padalkar +44 (0)20 7260 1000
Goldman Sachs International (Joint Corporate Broker)
Bertie Whitehead, Adam Laikin +44 (0)20 7774 1000
FTI Consulting (Public Relations Adviser)
Jamie Ricketts, Emma Hall, Lucy Highland, Jemima Gurney +44 (0)20 3727 1000
About LTG
Learning Technologies Group plc (LTG) is a leader in the growing
workplace digital learning and talent management market. The Group
offers end-to-end learning and talent solutions ranging from
strategic consultancy, through a range of content and platform
solutions to analytical insights that enable corporate and
government clients to close the gap between current and future
workforce capability.
LTG is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative
Investment Market (LTG.L) and headquartered in London. The Group
has offices in Europe, North America, South America and
Asia-Pacific.
Chief Executive Review
Introduction
LTG is a global provider of integrated talent management and
learning software and services.
Our purpose is shared by all of our companies: we help
organisations keep up with ever-changing workforce development
needs. Organisations need to recruit, motivate and retain the best
talent.
To meet this demand, we have built a broad offering to capture a
>$100 billion addressable market for digital learning and talent
management. The size of the opportunity reflects long-term,
structural drivers.
Our businesses are a cohesive federation of like-minded, highly
profitable leaders in talent management and learning software and
services with a common go-to-market strategy. Where it is
advantageous to our strategy, performance and client needs, we
collaborate on bilateral cross-selling and we integrate our
businesses' systems.
LTG continues to evolve by building out our offering through a
combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions that
complement the current business. Our strong cash generation and
prudent balance sheet give us a platform to pursue select accretive
acquisitions.
The Group remains well placed to benefit from AI and continues
to make progress with its AI strategy. A number of projects, trials
and policies are underway across the Group. For example, GP
Strategies is helping some of its largest clients to train their
own AI models across learning and talent and recently launched its
AI Consulting framework in May 2023. GP Strategies expects to
launch its AI learning programme in October for Learning and
Development leaders. Where relevant, our businesses are
collaborating on AI initiatives. Character-based AI initiated by
the PRELOADED team is being introduced to the largest GP Strategies
client for character-based learning assistant exploration. As part
of our long-term strategy, we will consider acquisitions of AI
technology businesses who have good products but need access to the
market.
Resilient performance with high levels of visibility from
recurring revenues
Revenues from continuing operations for the six months to June
2023 grew by 2% to GBP284.6 million (H1 2022: GBP277.8 million).
Our recurring revenues were offset by lower transactional volumes
in the first half of 2023, as indicated in our July update,
resulting in flat revenues on an organic constant currency basis.
This performance in a challenging macro backdrop underlines the
resilience of our model, with SaaS and long-term contracts
representing 72% of H1 2023 revenue (H1 2022: 71%).
As expected, the operational focus in H1 2023 remained the
large-scale commercial transformation of GP Strategies, acquired in
2021. The addition of GP Strategies has been a step-change for our
scale, tripling revenues and doubling profits. One-off issues in
the first half of the year relating to the integration of LEO into
GP Strategies' content division to form GPLX, impacted its first
half performance. These have now been resolved and we have seen an
improvement in GPLX margins in July and August compared to H1 with
further improvement expected in the remainder of the second half of
the year. As expected, overall margins in GP Strategies are
improving and we expect the exit run-rate adjusted EBIT margin for
the entire GP Strategies business will be in line with expectations
at c.17%.
Adjusted EBIT was slightly lower at GBP43.1 million (H1 2022:
GBP43.6 million). Statutory operating profit from continuing
operations improved 5% to GBP23.2 million (H1 2022: GBP22.2
million), including adjusting items of GBP19.9 million (H1 2022:
GBP21.4 million).
LTG is a cash generative business, which enables us to make a
voluntary debt repayment of $25 million on 29 September 2023,
giving an expected $1.7 million benefit per annum on interest
payments at current interest rates.
As announced in December 2022, a non-core asset within GP
Strategies had been identified for disposal in 2023. The sale of
this business is progressing well and we expect to provide a
further update before the end of the year.
Corporate Governance
ESG initiatives remain at the forefront of our business process
and strategy as we continue to advance towards our 2023 targets,
including making progress during the first half of the year around
sustainable procurement, scope 3 data, colleague engagement and
training.
We implemented a group-wide sustainable procurement policy and
will continue to refine our data and supplier review process,
including cascading our recently updated supplier code of conduct
policy. These steps help us to ensure that our supply chain is
aligned to our goals in the ESG space. In addition, we are focusing
heavily on our scope 3 data, looking more in-depth at our upstream
purchased goods and service category and evaluating our supply
chain. Our Ecovadis scores from our February 2023 submission
improved substantially and we have reduced our Scope 1 and Scope 2
emissions by more than 60% over our 2019 baseline year.
From the colleague perspective, we reactivated our engagement
survey to measure satisfaction and had a response rate of 75%.
Whilst there is no room for complacency, we were heartened by most
of results and qualitative feedback. We have implemented
disciplined processes for action planning and follow-up and we have
several other colleague initiatives underway in parallel to include
delivering our in-house designed core leadership programme, and
strengthening our performance enablement process to proactively
address development planning and well-being. I am also excited to
share that our largest subsidiary, GP Strategies, had numerous
internal promotions further diversifying their senior leadership
team.
We remain focused and committed to meeting the ESG goals that we
set forth in the 2022 annual report.
Operational Review
With effect from this interim report, reporting divisions have
been updated to reflect internal reporting on a business unit
basis, and the revised format is consistent with that used by the
Chief Operating Decision Maker. Following the reorganisation and
integration of LEO and PDT into GP Strategies, the Content &
Services division now includes all three businesses in addition to
Affirmity and PRELOADED. The Software and Platforms division
reflects the results for the Product companies. The categorisation
of the companies under the division heading is outlined below. Note
3 to the accounts includes a restatement of the prior year's
comparative result.
Content & Services (74% of H1 2023 Group revenue)
Content & Services comprises GP Strategies, PRELOADED and
Affirmity. GP Strategies is a global workforce transformation
provider of organisational and technical performance learning
solutions. PRELOADED is a BAFTA-winning immersive games studio.
Affirmity provides a portfolio of software, consulting services and
blended learning solutions to help US-based enterprise and
mid-market companies measure diversity, build inclusive workforces
and operate effective DE&I and affirmative action
programmes.
Revenue increased by 4.5% to GBP211.5 million (H1 2022: GBP202.3
million) reflecting the benefit of the strength of the US dollar
and 1.8% organic constant currency growth with particularly strong
growth in Affirmity and PRELOADED. There was moderate growth in GP
Strategies despite lengthening sales cycles and the challenging
macro environment impacting on transactional and project-based
work. As outlined previously, the integration challenges within
GPLX that impacted performance in the first half of the year have
been resolved.
Long-term contracts continued to perform as organisations
maintained their investment in delivering effective workforce
transformation solutions in a digital, flexible and fast-paced
corporate environment.
Effective 1 January 2023, LEO Learning, a digital learning
specialist was integrated with GP Strategies' global content design
team to create the world's largest and most creative custom content
and learning experience design offering, called GPLX.
Simultaneously, PDT Global joined GP Strategies' Leadership
Training division to create a combined force in Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion (DE&I). These additions to GP Strategies'
portfolio enhance its capabilities as a world-leading learning and
talent transformation company.
GP Strategies' solutions improve the effectiveness of
organisations by delivering innovative and superior consulting,
training, and business improvement solutions. Clients include
Global 500 companies, automotive, financial services, technology,
aerospace and defence industries, and other commercial and
government customers. The business has experienced good growth in
managed learning services with the ramp up of new accounts, and in
the Americas division with the expansion and growth in existing
accounts and non-US automotive accounts. AMEA had strong growth in
H1 2023 following a slower Covid recovery in H1 2022. This was
partially offset by the temporary GPLX H1 integration challenges
and lower transactional revenue due to a slowdown in spending in
large Human Capital Management implementation projects.
PRELOADED has seen a strong start to the year and continues to
win highly innovative contracts with significant clients including
a global entertainment company and a global international social
media company.
During the first half of 2023, Affirmity delivered strong
revenue growth driven by an improvement to the client renewal rate,
cross-selling at renewal and adding new clients.
Software & Platforms (26% of H1 2023 Group revenue)
The Software & Platforms division comprises SaaS and
on-premise licenced product solutions as well as hosting, support
and maintenance services. PeopleFluent provides cloud-based talent
management solutions and services to large-enterprise clients that
require recruiting, performance, succession, compensation, learning
and organisation charting capabilities beyond what is available
within their current HR systems. Breezy provides a largely
self-service SaaS talent acquisition solution aimed at small and
medium-sized businesses. Bridge is an employee-focused learning and
performance platform operating in the higher growth, mid-market
with proven potential to move into sectors of the enterprise
market. Rustici Software is a global expert in e-learning
interoperability software. Open LMS provides the largest scale
capability in the global open-source Moodle(TM) services market.
VectorVMS is a market-leading SaaS-based technology for the
contingent workforce.
Software & Platforms revenue of GBP72.9 million (H1 2022:
GBP75.5 million) declined 3% due to a combination of mixed business
performance and FX tailwinds. On an organic constant currency basis
Software & Platforms declined 4.7% driven by a 10.8% decline in
PeopleFluent as expected, lower revenue in Breezy due to softer
transactional revenue from the US SME recruitment market and lower
year-on-year performance in Reflektive due to softness in
technology sector customers and the commencement of a strategy to
migrate customers to a version of Reflektive within Bridge. This
was partially offset by continued strong growth in Rustici and
Bridge, and moderate growth in OpenLMS.
The macroeconomic picture has suppressed Breezy's performance in
H1 2023, as a 49% reduction in transactional revenue related to job
postings, now representing c15% of Breezy revenues, masks a 3%
growth in platform hosting revenues.
Rustici has continued to deliver strong organic revenue growth
in the first half of the year driven by its Content Controller
product which represents 60% of the growth (as it is the youngest
and fastest growing) and SCORM Cloud products.
Open LMS had moderate organic constant currency revenue growth
as customers rebased their requirements following strong
performance in the Covid years.
VectorVMS reported a slight softening in revenues compared to
the first half of 2022 as a result of customers reducing their
utilisation of contingent labour and healthcare labour rates
moderating after strong demand in Covid years.
Dividend
On 14 July 2023, the Company paid a final dividend of 1.15 pence
per share, giving a total dividend for 2022 of 1.60 pence per
share. Given its confidence in the continuing success of the Group,
the Board is pleased to declare an interim dividend of 0.45 pence
per share (2022: 0.45 pence per share). This dividend will be paid
on 27 October 2023 to all shareholders on the register as at 6
October 2023.
Current trading and outlook
In line with the pattern established in the first half of 2023,
LTG continues to see resilient trading in our SaaS and long-term
contracts, offset by lower transactional volumes, consistent with
current macroeconomic trends. While GP Strategies has seen lower
demand in certain regions such as China, it is expected to deliver
a significantly improved exit run-rate EBIT margin of c.17%, driven
by improvements to GPLX and a commercial transformation
programme.
The Board expects FY23 performance to be in line with analyst
estimates, including updated expectations for FX and share-based
payments. The Group remains well-placed to capitalise on greater
project activity as macro conditions improve.
LTG remains uniquely placed to capture growth opportunities in a
>$100 billion addressable market as a result of our scale and
breadth of offering in digital learning and talent management. Our
balance sheet supports accretive acquisitions that fit with our
culture. Demand from organisations to recruit, motivate and retain
the best talent, allied with improvements from our commercial
transformation programme in GP Strategies, support our confidence
of further progress in the second half of the year.
Jonathan Satchell
Chief Executive
26 September 2023
Chief Financial Officer's Review
In the six months ended 30 June 2023, despite the challenging
economic climate, revenues for continuing operations increased by
2% to GBP284.6 million (H1 2022: GBP277.8 million). The Group has
experienced growth and resilience in SaaS and long-term contracts
in contrast to transactional revenue with the proportion of this
category of revenue increasing to 72% from 71% in H1 2022.
Revenue in Content & Services increased 5% to GBP211.5
million (H1 2022: GBP202.3 million) with the division now
accounting for 74% of Group revenue (H1 2022: 73%). O rganic
constant currency revenue growth was 1.8% (H1 2022: 1.6%), due to a
combination of moderate growth in GP Strategies and strong growth
in Affirmity and PRELOADED. Long-term contracts accounted for 65%
of the division's revenue, an increase from 62% in H1 2022, a
testament to the resilience of recurring revenue. GP Strategies saw
strong growth in managed learning services contracts, and AMEA
following a slower Covid recovery in 2022, and the Americas
division. Offsetting this good growth were the temporary H1
integration challenges in GPLX, slowdown in spending in large
implementation projects and the macroeconomic climate affecting
transactional revenues. PRELOADED revenue growth was fuelled by an
increased US presence alongside developing stronger long-term
client relationships resulting in increased work from existing
clients. Affirmity also delivered strong growth driven by an
improvement to the client renewal rate, cross-selling at renewal
and acquiring new clients.
Revenue in Software & Platforms decreased 3% to GBP72.9
million (H1 2022: GBP75.5 million) with the division now
representing 26% of Group revenue (H1 2022: 27%). On an organic
constant currency basis Software & Platforms declined 4.7% (H1
2022: 6.5% growth) driven by an expected 10.8% decline in
PeopleFluent, continued challenges in Breezy as the transaction
business related to the SME US labour market remained subdued
despite resilient SaaS revenues, and Reflektive due to softness in
technology sector customers and the strategy to migrate customers
to a version of Reflektive within Bridge. These challenges were
partially offset by continued growth in Rustici driven by its
Content Controller product and m oderate growth in OpenLMS as
customers rebalance their requirements following the Covid years,
including some organisations losing their government sponsored
funding and a move back to face-to-face learning.
Adjusted EBIT from continuing operations decreased slightly to
GBP43.1 million (H1 2022: GBP43.6 million continuing operations).
The resulting adjusted EBIT margin of 15.1% was down from 15.7% in
H1 2022 , driven primarily by lower revenue in the Software &
Platforms division resulting in operational deleverage and the
temporary H1 challenges in GPLX which are now resolved.
Adjusted EBIT margin in the Content & Services division at
11.8% (H1 2022: 12.0%) was broadly in line with the prior year.
Software & Platforms adjusted EBIT margin reduced from 25.5% in
H1 2022 to 24.8% due to a decline in revenues resulting in slight
operational deleverage.
The Group reported an increase in operating profit of 5% to
GBP23.2 million (H1 2022: GBP22.2 million continuing operations,
GBP21.4 million reported) which is stated after amortisation of
acquired intangibles, various acquisition earn-out charges, loss on
disposal of fixed assets, transaction and integration costs.
Amortisation of acquired intangibles decreased to GBP16.6 million
(H1 2022: GBP18.0 million). Acquisition earn-out charges decreased
to GBP1.1 million (H1 2022: GBP2.3 million ). Contingent
consideration arrangements are in place for eThink, eCreators, and
PDT and are all dependent on challenging incremental revenue growth
targets. Loss on disposal of fixed assets were GBP0.9 million (H1
2022: GBP0.2 million). Integration costs decreased to GBP1.2
million (H1 2022: GBP2.3 million) related to the integration of GP
Strategies, with further costs expected in H2. We remain on track
to complete the integration in line with our initial estimate of
$13 million. For further details of the items excluded from
statutory operating profit, see note 6.
Net finance expenses of GBP6.7 million (H1 2022: GBP4.2 million)
include interest on borrowings of GBP7.0 million (H1 2022: GBP3.1
million), GBP 0.3 million (H1 2022: GBP0.3 million) relating to the
Group's leases under IFRS 16, and GBP0.5 million interest
receivable (H1 2022: GBP0.2 million).
The Group reported a profit before tax of GBP16.5 million for
the six months ended 30 June 2023 (H1 2022: GBP18.0 million). The
tax charge of GBP4.5 million (H1 2022: tax charge of GBP3.8
million) is p rimarily driven by applying UK and international tax
rates to associated results offset by the net favourable impact of
tax rate changes on deferred assets and liabilities and net
non-deductible foreign exchange adjustments.
Discontinued operations, reflecting the closure of the UK
Apprenticeship business, generated a loss after taxation of GBP1.1
million for the period (H1 2022: GBP0.4 million profit).
Basic earnings per share for continuing and discontinued
operations in H1 2023 was 1.376 pence (H1 2022: 1.848 pence).
Adjusted diluted earnings per share for continuing operations as
set out in Note 9 was 10% down on the prior year at 3.293 pence (H1
2022: 3.666 pence) reflecting marginally lower adjusted operating
profit, a significant increase in interest costs and a higher
number of shares including the potential dilutive impact of share
options.
Gross cash of GBP78.1 million and net debt of GBP108.4 million,
excluding GBP12.6 million of lease liabilities, at 30 June 2023
compares with gross cash of GBP94.8 million and net debt of
GBP119.8 million, excluding GBP14.9 million of lease liabilities,
at 31 December 2022. The covenant net debt / adjusted EBITDA ratio
was 0.9x in June 2023 (1.1x in December 2022).
Share-based payments are lower year-on-year due to a release of
prior year costs resulting from leavers and performance criteria
not being met.
Cash generated from operations was strong at GBP32.6 million (H1
2022: GBP26.8 million) as we tightly manage our working capital,
and net cash flow from operating activities was GBP26.7 million (H1
2022: GBP18.6 million).
Free cash flow(2) was GBP5.6 million (H1 2022 : GBP8.2 million)
as set out below, and we expect free cash flow to continue to be H2
weighted.
GBPm H1 2023 H1 2022(3) Variance
-------- -----------
Statutory operating profit 23.2 21.4 1.8
Adjusting items 19.9 22.7 (2.8)
-------- ----------- ---------
Adjusted EBIT 43.1 44.1 (1.0)
Depreciation & Amortisation 7.1 7.8 (0.7)
Share based payment charges 3.1 4.1 (1.0)
Dec / (Inc) in working capital(4) (12.1) (17.7) 5.6
Capital expenditure (7.2) (5.0) (2.2)
Lease liabilities (3.2) (4.0) 0.8
Other (2.8) (3.0) 0.2
Adjusted operating cash
flow(2) 28.0 26.3 1.7
-------- -----------
Cash Conversion(2) 65% 60% 5% pts
Net Interest paid (10.6) (3.7) (6.9)
Tax paid (5.9) (8.2) 2.3
Integration & transaction
costs (1.2) (2.3) 1.1
Earnout & contingent consideration (4.7) (6.2) 1.5
Proceeds from asset sale - 2.3 (2.3)
-------- ----------- ---------
Free cash flow(2) 5.6 8.2 (2.6)
------------------------------------ -------- ----------- ---------
Adjusted operating cash flow was GBP1.7 million higher than H1
2022 primarily reflecting a lower working capital investment offset
by higher capital expenditure in the period and lower share-based
payment charges. Cash conversion was 65%, an improvement from 60%
in H1 2022.
Net interest payments increased to GBP10.6 million from GBP3.7
million, including GBP4.5 m related to interest costs from 2022
payable in January 2023 as the loan was rolled for 6 months to
mitigate interest rate rises in H2 2022. Tax payments decreased to
GBP5.9 million (H1 2022: GBP8.2 million) due to a combination of
the reorganisation and prior year payments. Integration and
transaction costs primarily relate to the GP Strategies acquisition
in late 2021. Earnout payments relate to Breezy and eCreators.
Proceeds from asset sale were GBPnil in H1 2023, with the 2022 net
cash inflow due to the sale of an investment of GBP2.3 million
related to the sale of the NAS JV completed in April 2022.
The Group plans to voluntarily repay $25 million of its term
loan in addition to the normal quarterly payment of $9.6 million on
29 September 2023. The expected benefit of the voluntary repayment
in 2023, at current interest rates, is c.$1.7 million per
annum.
Net assets decreased to GBP419.6 million at 30 June 2023 (31
December 2022: GBP426.3 million) and total equity per share (2)
decreased from 54.0 pence per share to 53.0 pence per share.
(2) Alternative Performance Measure (APM) term defined and
explained in the Glossary
(3) As reported in H1 2022
(4) Excludes integration & transaction costs
Kath Kearney-Croft
CFO
26 September 2023
Consolidated statement of Six months
comprehensive income Six months to
to 30 June Year to
30 June 2023 2022 31 Dec 2022
Note GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Revenue 3 284,582 277,836 588,587
Operating expenses (258,320) (252,991) (532,743)
Share-based payment charge (3,081) (4,061) (6,693)
Profit on sale of joint venture - 1,242 1,242
Share of profit from equity
accounted investment - 155 155
-------------- ----------- -------------
Operating profit 23,181 22,181 50,548
Adjusted EBIT 43,115 43,585 99,925
Adjusting items included in
Operating profit 6 (19,934) (21,404) (49,377)
Operating profit 23,181 22,181 50,548
------------------------------------- ----- -------------- -----------
Finance expenses 7 (7,243) (4,361) (10,475)
Finance income 7 539 184 429
-------------- ----------- -------------
Profit before taxation from
continuing operations 16,477 18,004 40,502
Income tax charge 4 (4,472) (3,841) (9,784)
Profit after taxation from
continuing operations 12,005 14,163 30,718
(Loss) / Profit on discontinued
operations, net of tax 5 (1,125) 394 (312)
Profit for the period/year 10,880 14,557 30,406
Profit for the period/year
attributable to the owners
of the parent 10,880 14,557 30,406
Other comprehensive income:
Exchange differences on translating
foreign operations (11,920) 34,483 30,961
-------------- ----------- -------------
Total comprehensive (loss)/profit
for the period/year (1,040) 49,040 61,367
============== =========== =============
Earnings per share from continuing
operations
Basic (pence) 9 1.518 1.798 3.897
Diluted (pence) 9 1.476 1.749 3.748
------------------------------------- ----- -------------- ----------- -------------
Adjusted earnings per share
Basic (pence) 9 3.387 3.768 8.351
Diluted (pence) 9 3.293 3.666 8.032
------------------------------------- ----- -------------- ----------- -------------
Earnings per share from continuing
and discontinued operations
Basic (pence) 9 1.376 1.848 3.857
Diluted (pence) 9 1.338 1.798 3.710
Adjusted earnings per share
Basic (pence) 9 3.253 3.818 8.443
Diluted (pence) 9 3.163 3.715 8.121
------------------------------------- ----- -------------- ----------- -------------
Consolidated statement 30 June
of financial position 2023 30 June 31 Dec 2022
Note GBP'000 2022 GBP'000 GBP'000
NON-CURRENT ASSETS
Property, plant and equipment 11 2,433 3,233 2,857
Right-of-use assets 11 10,449 14,235 11,808
Intangible assets 10 527,173 585,623 560,972
Deferred tax assets 15 7,331 4,584 4,084
Other receivables, deposits
and prepayments 2,146 324 1,874
Amounts recoverable on
contracts - 1,362 1,303
--------- ---------------- ------------
549,532 609,361 582,898
CURRENT ASSETS
Trade receivables 12 105,768 122,872 136,025
Other receivables, deposits
and prepayments 13 14,620 17,876 16,765
Amounts recoverable on
contracts 39,349 41,800 33,221
Inventory 2,403 4,823 2,432
Amounts due from related
parties - 96 59
Cash and cash equivalents 14 78,132 71,933 94,847
Restricted cash balances 14 2,303 3,158 2,608
--------- ---------------- ------------
242,575 262,558 285,957
Assets in disposal groups
classified as held for
sale 19 6,695 - 8,369
TOTAL ASSETS 798,802 871,919 877,224
--------- ---------------- ------------
CURRENT LIABILITIES
Lease liabilities 17 4,162 8,194 5,082
Trade and other payables 16 141,581 174,470 180,634
Amounts due to related - 6 -
parties
Borrowings 17 31,220 23,845 36,714
Provisions 18 1,621 7,185 1,602
Corporation tax 5,468 4,395 602
ESPP scheme liability 881 703 500
--------- ---------------- ------------
184,933 218,798 225,134
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES
Lease liabilities 17 8,486 13,196 9,792
Deferred tax liabilities 15 23,547 26,101 27,265
Other long-term liabilities 1,466 806 3,517
Borrowings 17 155,289 193,367 177,944
Corporation tax payable 763 1,428 1,431
Provisions 18 534 949 1,857
--------- ---------------- ------------
190,085 235,847 221,806
Liabilities directly associated
with assets in disposal
groups classified as held
for sale 19 4,137 - 3,984
--------- ---------------- ------------
TOTAL LIABILITIES 379,155 454,645 450,924
--------- ---------------- ------------
NET ASSETS 419,647 417,274 426,300
========= ================ ============
EQUITY
Share capital 2,967 3,037 2,962
Share premium account 318,699 317,406 318,183
Merger relief reserve 31,983 31,983 31,983
Reverse acquisition reserve (22,933) (22,933) (22,933)
Share based payment reserve 17,674 13,322 14,714
Foreign exchange translation
reserve 13,809 29,251 25,729
Accumulated retained earnings 57,448 45,208 55,662
--------- ---------------- ------------
TOTAL EQUITY 419,647 417,274 426,300
========= ================ ============
Consolidated statement of changes in equity
Share Share Merger Reverse Share Foreign Retained Total
capital Premium relief acquisition based exchange earnings equity
reserve reserve payments reserve
reserve
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Balance at 1
January 2022 3,034 317,114 31,983 (22,933) 11,148 (5,232) 36,224 371,338
- - - - - - - -
Profit for
period - - - - - - 14,557 14,557
Exchange
differences on
translating
foreign
operations - - - - - 34,483 - 34,483
------------ ---------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- -------------- ---------
Total
comprehensive
income
for the period - - - - - 34,483 14,557 49,040
Issue of shares
net of share
issue costs 3 292 - - - - - 295
Share based
payment charge
/ credited to
equity - - - - 4,061 - - 4,061
Distributions in
respect
of cancelled
share options - - - - (1,887) - - (1,887)
Tax credit on
share options - - - - - - (58) (58)
Transfer on - - - - - - - -
exercise and
lapse of
options
Dividends paid - - - - - - (5,515) (5,515)
Balance at 30
June 2022 3,037 317,406 31,983 (22,933) 13,322 29,251 45,208 417,274
------------ ---------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- -------------- ---------
Profit for
period - - - - - - 15,849 15,849
Exchange
differences on
translating
foreign
operations - - - - - (3,522) - (3,522)
------------ ---------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- -------------- ---------
Total
comprehensive
income
for the period - - - - - (3,522) 15,849 12,327
Issue of shares
net of share
issue costs 5 737 - - - - - 742
Reserves
transfer (80) 40 - - - - 40 -
Share based
payment charge
/ credited to
equity - - - - 2,632 - - 2,632
Share-based
payment charge
treated as
consideration,
credited to
equity - - - - 542 - - 542
Distributions in
respect
of cancelled
share options - - - - (1,782) - - (1,782)
Tax credit on
share options - - - - - - (1,888) (1,888)
Transfer on - - - - - - - -
exercise and
lapse of
options
Dividends paid - - - - - - (3,547) (3,547)
Balance at 31
December
2022 2,962 318,183 31,983 (22,933) 14,714 25,729 55,662 426,300
============ ================ ============== ============== ============ ============== ============== =========
Profit for
period - - - - - - 10,880 10,880
Exchange
differences on
translating
foreign
operations - - - - - (11,920) - (11,920)
------------ ---------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- -------------- ---------
Total
comprehensive
(expense)
/ income for
the period - - - - - (11,920) 10,880 (1,040)
Issue of shares
net of share
issue costs 5 516 - - - - - 521
Reserves - -
transfer
Share based
payment charge
/ credited to
equity - - - - 3,081 - - 3,081
Share based
payment
consideration
debited to
equity - - - - (121) - - (121)
Tax credit on - - - - - - - -
share options
Transfer on - - - - - - - -
exercise and
lapse of
options
Dividends paid - - - - - - (9,094) (9,094)
Transactions
with owners 5 516 - - 2,960 - (9,094) (5,613)
Balance at 30
June 2023 2,967 318,699 31,983 (22,933) 17,674 13,809 57,448 419,647
------------ ---------------- -------------- -------------- ------------ -------------- -------------- ---------
Consolidated statement of cash flows
Note Six months Six months Year to
to to 31 Dec
30 June 30 June 2022
2023 2022 GBP'000
GBP'000 GBP'000
Cash flow from operating activities
Profit before taxation 16,477 18,004 40,502
(Loss)/profit before taxation from
discontinued operations 5 (1,452) 486 (26)
Adjustments for:-
Loss on disposal of PPE and right-of-use
assets 893 232 230
Share based payment charge 3,081 4,061 7,235
Amortisation of intangible assets 20,880 21,359 43,183
Depreciation of plant and equipment 11 745 2,334 2,141
Depreciation of right-of-use assets 11 2,128 2,140 4,343
Impairment of Goodwill and acquired
intangibles - - 7,958
Finance expense 7 257 306 573
Interest on borrowings 7 6,986 3,297 9,102
Acquisition-related contingent consideration
and earn-outs 6 1,088 2,254 3,273
Fair value movement on contingent
consideration - - (21)
Payment of acquisition-related contingent
consideration and earn-outs (4,726) (6,163) (6,139)
Profit on sale of joint venture - (1,242) (1,242)
Share of profit in equity accounted
investment - (155) (155)
Interest income 7 (539) (108) (429)
----------- ----------- ---------
Operating cash flow before working
capital changes 45,818 46,805 110,528
Decrease/(increase) in trade and
other receivables 24,189 8,113 (6,521)
Increase in inventory (70) (3,727) (1,210)
(Increase)/decrease in amount recoverable
on contracts (6,187) (10,222) 3,647
Decrease in payables (31,190) (14,213) (14,317)
Cash generated from operations 32,560 26,756 92,127
Income tax paid (5,904) (8,151) (20,180)
----------- ----------- ---------
Net cash flow from operating activities 26,656 18,605 71,947
----------- ----------- ---------
Cash flow used in investing activities
Purchase of property, plant and
equipment (490) (289) (1,641)
Development of intangible assets (6,707) (4,700) (9,966)
Sale of Investment in associates
or joint ventures - 2,300 2,300
Net cash flow used in investing
activities (7,197) (2,689) (9,307)
----------- ----------- ---------
Cash flow (used in)/from financing
activities
Dividends paid 8 - - (9,062)
Cash generated from issue of shares,
net of share issue costs 521 293 1,037
Repayment of bank loans (15,409) (30,496) (38,458)
Interest paid 1 (11,147) (3,851) (4,609)
Interest received 539 108 352
Contingent consideration payments
in the period - - (705)
Interest paid on lease liabilities (261) (334) (614)
Cash payments for the principal
portion of lease liabilities (2,977) (3,707) (6,719)
Net cash flow (used in)/from financing
activities (28,734) (37,987) (58,778)
----------- ----------- ---------
Net (decrease) / increase in cash
and cash equivalents (9,275) (22,071) 3,862
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning
of the period/year 94,847 83,850 83,850
Effects of foreign exchange rate
changes (7,440) 10,154 7,135
---------
Cash and cash equivalents at end
of the period/year 14 78,132 71,933 94,847
=========== =========== =========
1 Interest paid for six months ending 30 June 2023 (GBP11.1
million) is higher than interest charged for the same period
(GBP6.9 million), mainly as the last six months interest of 2022
were paid in January 2023 as per the lending agreement.
Notes to the consolidated financial statements for the six
months to 30 June 2023
1. General information
Learning Technologies Group plc ("the Company") and its
subsidiaries (together, "the Group") provide a range of learning
and talent software and services to corporate customers. The
principal activity of the Company is that of a holding company for
the Group, as well as performing all administrative, corporate
finance, strategic and governance functions of the Group.
The Company is a public limited company, which is listed on the
AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and domiciled in England
and incorporated and registered in England and Wales. The address
of its registered office is 15 Fetter Lane, London, England, EC4A
1BW. The registered number of the Company is 07176993.
2. Basis of preparation
The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial
information has been prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim
Financial Reporting. They do not include all disclosures that would
otherwise be required in a complete set of financial statements and
should be read in conjunction with the 2022 annual report.
The interim results for the six months to 30 June 2023 are
unaudited and do not therefore constitute statutory accounts in
accordance with Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.
Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2022 have been
filed with the Registrar of Companies and the auditor's report was
unqualified, did not contain any statement under Section 498(2) or
498(3) of the Companies Act 2006 and did not contain any matters to
which the auditors drew attention without qualifying their
report.
The accounting policies used in preparing the interim results
are the same as those applied to the latest audited annual
financial statements.
Going concern
The Group meets its day-to-day working capital requirements from
the positive cash flows generated by its trading activities and its
available cash resources. These may be supplemented, if required,
by additional drawings under the Group's committed $50.0 million
revolving credit facility (RCF) which is available until October
2025; refer to Note 17 for further details.
The Group continues to hold a strong liquidity position as at 30
June 2023, with gross cash and cash equivalents of GBP78.1 million
(Note 14 ). Net debt of GBP108.4 million includes a fully drawn
$265.0 million term loan which is repayable in quarterly
instalments of $9.6 million commencing in December 2022 (Note 17 )
(31 December 2022: gross cash was GBP94.8 million and net debt was
GBP119.8 million). Whilst there are a number of risks to the
Group's trading performance, as summarised in the 'Principal risks
and uncertainties' section on pages 27 - 28 within the 2022 Annual
Report, the Group is confident of its ability to continue to access
sources of funding in the medium term.
The directors report that they have re-assessed the principal
risks, reviewed current performance and forecasts, combined with
expenditure commitments, including capital expenditure, and
borrowing facilities. The Group's forecasts demonstrate it will
generate profits and cash in the year ending 31 December 2023 and
beyond and that the Group has sufficient cash reserves to enable it
to meet its obligations as they fall due, as well as operate within
its banking covenants, for a period of at least 12 months from the
date of signing of these financial statements.
The Directors have concluded that it is appropriate to adopt the
going concern basis of accounting in preparing the interim
financial information, having undertaken a review of a reforecast
for 2023 and the impact this forecast has on the Group's gross
cash, net debt and ability to meet bank covenants under the
existing facilities agreement.
Alternative performance measures
The Group has identified certain alternative performance
measures ("APMs") that it believes will assist the understanding of
the performance of the business. The Group believes that Adjusted
EBIT, adjusting items, SaaS and long-term contracts, transactional
revenue, total equity per share and net cash / debt provide useful
information to users of the financial statements. The terms are not
defined terms under IFRS and may therefore not be comparable with
similarly titled measures reported by other companies. They are not
intended to be a substitute for, or superior to, IFRS measures.
Adjusting items
The Group has chosen to present an adjusted measure of profit
and earnings per share, which excludes certain items which are
separately disclosed due to their size, nature or incidence, and
are not considered to be part of the normal operating costs of the
Group. These costs may include the financial effect of adjusting
items such as, inter alia, restructuring costs, impairment charges,
amortisation of acquired intangibles, costs relating to business
combinations, one-off foreign exchange gains or losses, integration
costs, acquisition-related share-based payment charges, contingent
consideration and earn-outs, cloud computing configuration and
customisation costs, joint venture profits, profit on sale of a
joint venture and fixed asset and right-of-use asset disposal gains
or losses.
3. Segment analysis
Geographical information
The Group's revenue from external customers and non-current
assets by geographical location are detailed below.
North Asia Rest
UK Europe America(1) Pacific of world Total
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Six months to
30 June 2023
Revenue from continuing
operations 33,023 26,916 194,875 17,637 12,131 284,582
Total Revenue 33,023 26,916 194,875 17,637 12,131 284,582
Non-current assets 29,653 900 493,927 17,270 451 542,201
-------- ---------- ------------ --------- ---------- ------------
Six months to
30 June 2022
Revenue from continuing
operations 30,357 26,463 189,383 18,859 12,774 277,836
Revenue from discontinued
operations 3,973 - - - - 3,973
-------- ---------- ------------ --------- ---------- ------------
Total Revenue 34,330 26,463 189,383 18,859 12,774 281,809
Non-current assets 44,246 912 537,933 21,056 630 604,777
-------- ---------- ------------ --------- ---------- ------------
Year to 31 December
2022
Revenue from continuing
operations 58,679 71,637 407,343 21,824 29,104 588,587
Revenue from discontinued
operations 8,315 - - - - 8,315
-------- ---------- ------------ --------- ---------- ------------
Total Revenue 66,994 71,637 407,343 21,824 29,104 596,902
Non-current assets 31,017 569 527,634 19,177 417 578,814
-------- ---------- ------------ --------- ---------- ------------
(1) The values as presented for Canada and the United States for
the six months to 30 June 2022 have been combined into 'North
America' to align with the geographical segmentation as reported to
the Chief Operating Decision Maker internally.
The total non-current assets figure is exclusive of deferred tax
assets in each of the periods above.
The non-current assets as at 30 June 2022 have been represented
following the prior year acquisition measurement adjustments as
detailed in the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December
2022.
3. Segment analysis (continued)
Information about reported segment revenue, profit or loss from
continuing operations and assets
Software & Platforms Content & Services Other Total
--------------- ------------------------------------------- -------- ---------
On-Premise Hosting Platforms Support Total Global Regional Other Total Rental
Software & SaaS Professional and Services Services Technical Income
Licences Services Maintenance Services
& Other
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Six months to
30 June 2023
Saas and long-term
contracts 15,191 50,249 2,057 1,958 69,455 44,142 90,311 2,183 136,636 189 206,280
Transactional - 31 3,386 - 3,417 9,724 50,991 14,170 74,885 - 78,302
----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Revenue 15,191 50,280 5,443 1,958 72,872 53,866 141,302 16,353 211,521 189 284,582
Depreciation and
amortisation (3,978) (2,391) (6,369)
--------------------- ----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Adjusted EBIT 18,050 24,876 189 43,115
Amortisation of
acquired
intangibles (8,995) (7,581) - (16,576)
Acquisition related
adjusting items (1,046) (1,192) - (2,238)
Other adjusting
items (287) (833) - (1,120)
Finance
(expenses)/income (1,717) (4,987) - (6,704)
Profit before
tax 6,005 10,283 189 16,477
--------------------- ----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Additions to
intangible
Assets 1,717 4,990 6,707
Total assets 204,547 594,255 798,802
Six months to 30 June 2022
Saas and long-term
contracts 15,104 52,395 1,983 2,020 71,502 40,106 82,097 3,214 125,417 70 196,989
Transactional - 42 3,931 - 3,973 3,698 56,128 17,048 76,874 - 80,847
----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Revenue 15,104 52,437 5,914 2,020 75,475 43,804 138,225 20,262 202,291 70 277,836
Depreciation and
amortisation (3,673) (2,865) (6,538)
--------------------- ----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Adjusted EBIT 19,217 24,298 70 43,585
Amortisation of
acquired
intangibles (9,249) (8,741) - (17,990)
Acquisition-related
adjusting items (787) (3,792) - (4,579)
Other adjusting
items 317 848 - 1,165
Finance expenses (1,134) (3,043) - (4,177)
Profit before
tax 8,364 9,570 70 18,004
--------------------- ----------- ---------- ------------- ------------ -------- --------- --------- ---------- --------- -------- ---------
Additions to
intangible
Assets 4,433 267 4,700
Total assets 236,858 635,061 871,919
3. Segment analysis (continued)
Effective with this interim report, there are changes to the
grouping of businesses within the reportable segments, including
restating the prior year's comparative result.
Adjusted EBIT is the main measure of profit reviewed by the
Chief Operating Decision Maker.
The total assets figure is inclusive of deferred tax assets in
each of the periods above.
Information about major customers
In the six months to 30 June 2023 no customer accounted for more
than 10 per cent of reported revenues (Six months to 30 June 2022:
no customer accounted for more than 10 per cent of reported
revenues).
4. Taxation
Current and deferred tax for the six months to 30 June 2023 has
been calculated by applying the jurisdictional statutory rates on
an entity-by-entity basis to derive the Group's total income tax
expense. This is allocated to current and deferred tax as outlined
below:
Six months Six months Year to
to to
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Current tax:
Tax on profits for the period/year - 1,860 (282)
Adjustments in respect of
prior periods / years 1,449 134 2,522
Foreign current tax on profits
for the period / year 9,034 11,091 19,193
Total current tax 10,483 13,085 21,433
Deferred tax:
Origination and reversal
of temporary differences (5,836) (5,830) (7,459)
Adjustments in respect of
prior periods / years (359) (87) (3,597)
Change in deferred tax rate (143) (3,235) (307)
----------- ----------- ---------
Total deferred tax (6,338) (9,152) (11,363)
Income tax expense 4,145 3,933 10,070
=========== =========== =========
Of the total income tax expense, GBP4,472,000 relates to
taxation on continuing operations (six months to June 2022 expense
GBP3,841,000 and year to 31 December 2022 expense
GBP9,784,000).
5. (Loss) / Profit on discontinued operations, net of tax
The table below show the results of the discontinued operations
which are included in the Group Income Statement and Group
Statement of Cash Flows respectively.
Six months
Six months to
to 30 June Year to
30 June 2023 2022 31 Dec 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Revenue - 3,973 8,315
Operating expenses (1,452) (3,487) (8,341)
Operating (loss) / profit (1,452) 486 (26)
Adjusted EBIT (1,389) 486 1,018
Adjusting items included
in Operating (loss) /
profit
(Loss) / profit on disposal
of fixed assets (1) - 3
Closure costs (62) - (1,047)
Operating (loss) / profit (1,452) 486 (26)
------------------------------- -------------- -----------
(Loss) / Profit before
taxation (1,452) 486 (26)
Taxation 327 (92) (286)
(Loss) / Profit after
taxation (1,125) 394 (312)
Six months
Six months to
to 30 June Year to
30 June 2023 2022 31 Dec 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Net cash (used in) /
from operating activities (1,452) 486 (29)
Net cash from investing
activities - - 3
-------------- ----------- -------------
Net cash from discontinued
operations (1,452) 486 (26)
6. Adjusting items
These items are included in the normal operating costs of the
business, but are significant cash and non-cash expenses that are
separately disclosed because of their size, nature or incidence. It
is the Group's view that excluding them from Operating Profit gives
a better representation of the underlying performance of the
business in the period. Further details of the adjusting items are
included below.
Six months Six months Year to
to to
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Adjusting items included
in Operating profit:
Acquisition related costs:
Amortisation of acquired
intangibles 16,576 17,990 35,723
Acquisition-related contingent
consideration and earn-outs 1,088 2,254 3,273
Acquisition-related share
based payment charge - - 542
Fair value movement on contingent
consideration - - (21)
Acquisition costs - 43 304
Integration costs 1,150 2,282 3,512
----------- ----------- --------
Total acquisition related
costs 18,814 22,569 43,333
Other adjusting items:
Impairment of goodwill and
intangibles - - 7,958
Loss on disposal of fixed
assets 41 - 5
Loss on disposal of right-of-use
assets 852 232 228
Share of profit of joint
venture - (155) (155)
Profit on sale of joint venture - (1,242) (1,242)
Cloud computing configuration
and customisation costs 122 - 719
Disposal costs 105 - -
Other income - - (1,469)
Total other adjusting items 1,120 (1,165) 6,044
Total adjusting items 19,934 21,404 49,377
=========== =========== ========
As outlined above, the material adjustments during the period
are made in respect of:
- Amortisation of acquired intangibles - the cost of
GBP16.6 million (2022: GBP18.0 million) is excluded
from the adjusted results of the Group since the
costs are non-cash charges arising from investment
activities. As such, they are not considered reflective
of the core trading performance of the Group.
- Impairment of goodwill and intangibles and closure
provisions - these costs are excluded from the adjusted
results of the Group since the costs are one-off
charges related to closure of the non-core UK apprenticeship
business in early 2023 as announced in 2022.
- Acquisition-related share-based payments, contingent
consideration and earn-outs - these costs are excluded
from the adjusted results since these costs are also
associated with business acquisitions and represent
post-combination remuneration, which is not included
in the calculation of goodwill and also not considered
part of the core trading performance of the Group.
6. Adjusting items (continued)
- Fair value movement on contingent consideration -
similar to the above, any adjustments to contingent
consideration through profit or loss are excluded
from adjusted results on the basis that it is non-cash
non-operational income or costs.
- Disposal costs relate to the fees incurred for the
sale of a non-core asset (see note 19 ).
- Costs of acquisition and integration - the costs of
acquiring and integrating subsidiaries purchased.
These costs associated with completed acquisitions
are excluded from the adjusted results on the basis
they are directly attributable to investment activities,
rather than the core trading activities of the Group.
Included within the GBP1.2 million integration costs
are legal and professional fees of GBP0.2 million,
an allocation of internal labour for employees who
have worked on integration activities during the year
of GBP0.9 million and costs relating to facilities
of GBP0.1 million.
- Other income includes amounts received in relation
to a contract and is an adjusting item due to its
quantum and non-recurring nature.
- Cloud computing configuration and customisation costs
reflects the impact of a change in accounting policy
following review of IFRIC guidance issued in March
2021 relating to capitalisation of cloud computing
software implementation costs. Where there is no underlying
intangible asset over which we retain control, the
Group recognises configuration and customisation costs
as an expense.
7. Finance expenses
Six months Six months Year to
to to
30 June 30 June 31 Dec 2022
2023 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Interest on borrowings 6,986 3,148 9,102
Net foreign exchange differences - 908 800
IFRS 16 finance expense 257 305 573
----------- ----------- ------------
Finance expense 7,243 4,361 10,475
----------- ----------- ------------
Credit on contingent consideration - - (77)
Interest receivable (539) (184) (352)
----------- ----------- ------------
Finance income (539) (184) (429)
----------- ----------- ------------
Net finance expense 6,704 4,177 10,046
=========== =========== ============
8. Dividends paid
Six months Six months Year to
to to
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Final dividends paid 9,094 5,515 5,515
Interim dividend paid - - 3,547
9,094 5,515 9,062
=========== =========== ========
The declared interim dividend of 0.45 pence per share, amounting
to a total dividend payment of GBP3.6 million, is not included as a
liability in these financial statements and will be paid on 27
October 2023 to shareholders on the register at the close of
business on 6 October 2023.
9. E arnings per share
Six months Six months Year to
to to
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Basic earnings per share
(pence) 1.376 1.848 3.857
Diluted earnings per share
(pence) 1.338 1.798 3.710
Adjusted basic earnings per
share (pence) 3.253 3.818 8.443
Adjusted diluted earnings
per share (pence) 3.163 3.715 8.121
Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the
profit/loss after tax attributable to the equity holders of the
Group by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the
period.
Diluted earnings per share is calculated by adjusting the
weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding to assume
conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares. The Company
has share options that are dilutive potential ordinary shares.
In order to give a better understanding of the underlying
operating performance of the Group, an adjusted earnings per share
comparative has been included. Adjusted earnings per share is
stated after adjusting the profit after tax attributable to equity
holders of the Group for certain charges as set out in the table
below.
Adjusted earnings per share is stated after the impact of the
adjusting items disclosed in note 6 .
In the six month period ended 30 June 2022, management had
excluded the profit or losses on disposal of fixed assets and
right-of-use assets and included the impact of financing items
(note 7 ) in their calculation of adjusted earnings per share.
When including the profit or losses on disposal of fixed assets
and excluding interest receivable, finance expense on contingent
consideration and finance expense on lease liabilities to present
earnings per share on a like for like basis, the adjusted basic
earnings per share for the period ended 30 June 2022 would have
been 3.717p and adjusted diluted earnings per share 3.617p, a
difference of 0.101p and 0.098p, respectively. On a like for like
basis for the period ended 30 June 2022 in relation to continuing
operations, the adjusted basic earnings per share would have been
3.667p and the adjusted diluted earnings per share 3.568p, a
difference of 0.101p and 0.098p, respectively.
The calculation of earnings per share from continuing and
discontinued operations is based on the following earnings and
number of shares.
Six months to 30 June 2023 Six months to 30 June 2022 Year to 31 December 2022
Profit Weighted Pence Profit Weighted Pence Profit Weighted Pence per
after average per after average per after average share
tax number share tax number share tax number
of of of
shares shares shares
GBP'000 '000 GBP'000 '000 GBP'000 '000
Basic earnings
per ordinary
share 10,880 790,677 1.376 14,557 787,765 1.848 30,406 788,295 3.857
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Effect of
adjustments:
Total adjusting
items (see note
6 ) 19,997 22,646 50,421
Adjusting items
excluded from
earnings per
share
adjustments:
Loss on disposal - (232) -
of fixed assets
Profit on - (1,242) -
disposal of joint
venture
Interest - (184) -
receivable
Net foreign - 907 -
exchange gain on
borrowings
Finance expense - 305 -
on lease
liabilities (IFRS
16)
Income tax
(credit)/expense 4,145 3,933 10,070
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Effect of
adjustments 24,142 - 3.053 26,133 - 3.317 60,491 7.674
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Adjusted profit
before tax 35,022 - - 40,690 - - 90,897
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Tax impact after
adjustments (9,305) - (1.177) (10,613) - (1.347) (24,338) (3.087)
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Adjusted basic
earnings per
ordinary share 25,717 790,677 3.253 30,077 787,765 3.818 66,559 788,295 8.443
Effect of
dilutive
potential
ordinary shares:
Share options - 22,509 (0.090) - 21,807 (0.103) 31,310 (0.322)
Adjusted diluted
earnings per
ordinary share 25,717 813,186 3.163 30,077 809,572 3.715 66,559 819,605 8.121
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Diluted earnings
per ordinary
share
attributable to
the owners of
the parent 10,880 813,186 1.338 14,557 809,572 1.798 30,406 819,605 3.710
The calculation of earnings per share from continuing operations
is based on the following earnings and number of shares.
Six months to 30 June 2023 Six months to 30 June 2022 Year to 31 December 2022
Profit Weighted Pence Profit Weighted Pence Profit Weighted Pence per
after average per after average per after average share
tax number share tax number share tax number
of of of
shares shares shares
GBP'000 '000 GBP'000 '000 GBP'000 '000
Basic earnings
per ordinary
share 12,005 790,677 1.518 14,163 787,765 1.798 30,718 788,295 3.897
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Effect of
adjustments:
Total adjusting
items (see note
6 ) 19,934 22,646 49,377
Adjusting items
excluded from
earnings per
share
adjustments:
Loss on disposal - (232) -
of fixed assets
Profit on - (1,242) -
disposal of joint
venture
Interest - (184) -
receivable
Net foreign - 907 -
exchange gain on
borrowings
Finance expense - 305 -
on lease
liabilities (IFRS
16)
Income tax
(credit)/expense 4,472 3,841 9,784
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Effect of
adjustments 24,406 3.087 26,041 3.306 59,161 7.505
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Adjusted profit
before tax 36,411 40,204 89,879
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Tax impact after
adjustments (9,632) (1.218) (10,521) (1.336) (24,052) (3.051)
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Adjusted basic
earnings per
ordinary share 26,779 790,677 3.387 29,683 787,765 3.768 65,827 788,295 8.351
Effect of
dilutive
potential
ordinary shares:
Share options - 22,509 (0.094) - 21,807 (0.101) - 31,310 (0.319)
Adjusted diluted
earnings per
ordinary share 26,779 813,186 3.293 29,683 809,572 3.666 65,827 819,605 8.032
--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----------
Diluted earnings
per ordinary
share
attributable to
the owners of
the parent 12,005 813,186 1.476 14,163 809,572 1.749 30,718 819,605 3.748
.
10. Intangible assets
Goodwill Customer Branding Acquired Internal Total
contracts IP software
and relationships develop-ment
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Cost
At 1 January 2022 337,754 188,860 15,277 90,314 26,199 658,404
Additions - - - - 4,700 4,700
Foreign exchange 1,202
differences 34,404 10,808 10,808 1,396 7,100 - 54,910
------------ ------------------- ----------- ------------ -------------- -----------
199,668 32,101
At 30 June 2022 372,158 199,668 16,673 97,414 28,844 718,014
Additions - - - - 5,266 5,266
Adjustment related
to cloud computing
costs - - - - (640) (640)
Reclassified as assets
held for sale (501) (1,095) (450) (28) - (2,074)
Impairment (5,401) (2,581) (497) (59) - (8,538)
Foreign exchange
differences 1,013 3,129 1,052 2,245 1,089 8,528
At 31 December 2022 367,269 199,121 16,778 99,572 37,816 720,556
Additions - - - - 6,707 6,707
Foreign exchange
differences (14,025) (4,354) (595) (3,883) (1,101) (23,958)
------------ ------------ -------------- -----------
At 30 June 2023 353,244 194,767 16,183 95,689 43,422 703,305
Accumulated amortisation
At 1 January 2022 - 70,947 2,068 23,179 14,838 111,032
Amortisation charged
in period - 10,760 1,466 5,764 3,369 21,359
At 30 June 2022 - 81,707 3,534 28,943 18,207 132,391
Amortisation charged
in period - 9,891 1,590 6,252 4,091 21,824
Reclassified as assets
held for sale - (182) (105) (7) - (294)
Impairment - (446) (120) (14) - (580)
Foreign exchange
differences - 2,703 981 1,944 615 6,243
------------ ------------ -------------- -----------
At 31 December 2022 - 93,673 5,880 37,118 22,913 159,584
Amortisation charged
in period - 9,367 1,424 5,785 4,304 20,880
Foreign exchange
differences - (2,080) (196) (1,474) (582) (4,332)
------------ ------------ -------------- -----------
At 30 June 2023 - 100,960 7,108 41,429 26,635 176,132
Carrying amount
At 30 June 2022 372,158 117,961 13,139 68,471 13,894 585,623
At 31 December 2022 367,269 105,448 10,898 62,454 14,903 560,972
At 30 June 2023 353,244 93,807 9,075 54,260 16,787 527,173
11. Property, Plant, equipment and right-of-use assets
Right of Use Assets
Computer Property Total Computer Property Total
equipment Motor equipment Motor
vehicles vehicles
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Cost
At 1 January 2022 1,804 438 1,617 3,859 559 23,347 134 24,040
Additions 631 9 7 647 - 587 - 587
Foreign exchange
differences 151 31 138 320 21 475 (13) 483
Transfer between cost
and depreciation (11) - - (11)
Disposals (53) (1) - (54) (67) (3,331) - (3,398)
At 30 June 2022 2,522 477 1,762 4,761 513 21,078 121 21,712
Reclassifications 1,134 140 (1,274) -
Additions 884 94 16 994 - 1,475 - 1,475
Foreign exchange
differences 1,902 (57) 91 1,936 (9) (276) 13 (272)
Reclassified as assets
held for sale (236) (48) (43) (327) - (278) - (278)
Disposals (538) (232) (159) (929) (34) (2,097) (57) (2,188)
At 31 December 2022 5,668 374 393 6,435 470 19,902 77 20,449
Additions 415 12 63 490 - 1,316 - 1,316
Foreign exchange
differences (154) 262 (121) (13) (2) (232) - (234)
Disposals (1,706) (23) (142) (1,871) - (313) - (313)
At 30 June 2023 4,223 625 193 5,041 468 20,673 77 21,218
Accumulated Depreciation
At 1 January 2022 281 124 222 627 186 6,596 13 6,795
Charge for the period 675 103 123 901 86 2,366 34 2,486
Disposals (14) (1,790) - (1,804)
At 30 June 2022 956 227 345 1,528 258 7,172 47 7,477
Charge for the period 944 167 129 1,240 75 1,763 19 1,857
Reclassifications 129 - (129) -
Disposals (480) (221) (148) (849) (6) (560) (22) (588)
Reclassified as assets
held for sale (178) (47) (43) (268) - (105) - (105)
Foreign exchange
differences 1,765 (10) 172 1,927 - - - -
At 31 December 2022 3,136 116 326 3,578 327 8,270 44 8,641
Charge for the period 558 97 90 745 58 2,055 15 2,128
Disposals (1,704) (23) (105) (1,832) - - - -
Foreign exchange
differences (18) 253 (118) 117 - - - -
At 30 June 2023 1,972 443 193 2,608 385 10,325 59 10,769
Net book value
At 30 June 2022 1,566 250 1,417 3,233 255 13,906 74 14,235
At 31 December 2022 2,532 258 67 2,857 143 11,632 33 11,808
At 30 June 2023 2,251 182 - 2,433 83 10,348 18 10,449
12. Trade receivables
30 Jun 30 Jun 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Trade receivables 109,890 128,384 140,951
Allowance for impairment
losses (4,122) (5,512) (4,926)
105,768 122,872 136,025
The Group's normal trade credit term is 30-60 days. Other credit
terms are assessed and approved on a case-by-case basis.
The fair value of trade receivables approximates their carrying
amount, as the impact of discounting is not significant. No
interest has been charged to date on overdue receivables.
In accordance with IFRS 15, the Group has disclosed trade
receivable balances net of the associated contract liabilities, as
outlined below. These balances will be shown net until the earlier
of either the date the payment becomes due and a receivable is
recognized or the date that the services are delivered and an
associated contract asset is recognized.
30 Jun 30 Jun 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Contract liabilities
offset within trade
receivables above 3,981 7,085 6,639
13. Other receivables, deposits and prepayments
30 June 2023 30 June 31 Dec 2022
2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Sundry receivables 6,742 4,258 6,767
Prepayments 7,878 13,618 9,998
14,620 17,876 16,765
Sundry receivables as at 30 June 2022 have been adjusted
relating to the impact of prior year acquisition measurement period
adjustment (see the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December
2022).
14. Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term
deposits
For the purpose of the statement of cash flows, cash and cash
equivalents comprise cash held by the Group and short-term bank
deposits with an original maturity of three months or less:
30 June 2023 30 June 31 Dec 2022
2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Cash and cash equivalents 78,132 71,933 94,847
Restricted cash balances comprise amounts held on behalf of
third parties and employees as part of the Employee Stock Purchase
Plan ('ESPP'):
30 June 2023 30 June 31 Dec 2022
2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Restricted cash 2,303 3,158 2,608
15. Deferred tax assets / liabilities
The movement in deferred tax assets and liabilities prior to
offsetting are shown below:
Deferred Tax Assets Share Tax losses Short-term Intangibles Total
options timing
differences
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
At 31 December 2022 3,622 5,248 12,814 4,939 26,623
Deferred tax charged directly
to the income statement - 1,920 1,058 - 2,978
Exchange rate differences (48) (166) (507) (198) (919)
Changes in tax rate - 124 36 - 160
At 30 June 2023 3,574 7,126 13,401 4,741 28,842
Deferred Tax Liability Intangibles Accelerated Short-term Total
tax depreciation timing
differences
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
At 31 December 2022 46,541 615 2,648 49,804
Deferred tax charge directly
to the income statement (4,284) (9) 1,075 (3,218)
Deferred tax charged directly
to equity (1,402) - - (1,402)
Exchange rate differences - (26) (118) (144)
Changes in tax rate - - 18 18
At 30 June 2023 40,855 580 3,623 45,058
15. Deferred tax assets / liabilities (continued)
The total deferred tax assets and liabilities subject to
offsetting are presented below:
Total Deferred tax assets Total Deferred tax liabilities
30 June 30 June 2022 31 Dec 30 June 30 June 2022 31 Dec
2023 GBP'000 2022 2023 GBP'000 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Prior to offsetting 28,842 19,682 26,623 45,058 41,199 49,804
Offset of tax (21,511) (15,098) (22,539) (21,511) (15,098) (22,539)
After offsetting 7,331 4,584 4,084 23,547 26,101 27,265
The deferred tax assets and liabilities have been represented in
the balance sheet as at 30 June 2022 to reflect the requirements of
IAS12 to offset deferred tax assets and liabilities when there is a
legally enforceable right to set off current tax assets against
current tax liabilities, when they relate to income taxes levied by
the same taxation authority and the Group intends to settle its
current tax assets and liabilities on a net basis. This has
resulted in a reduction of deferred tax assets and liabilities
included in non-current assets and non-current liabilities
respectively of GBP15.1 million. There is no impact on net assets,
cash flow or reserves.
16. Trade and other payables
30 June 30 June 31 Dec 2022
2023 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Trade payables 15,056 27,919 31,813
Contract liabilities 74,292 80,431 99,303
Tax and social security 11,574 23,188 22,300
Contingent consideration - - 21
Acquisition-related contingent
consideration and earn-outs 1,610 4,776 4,876
Accruals and other payables 39,049 38,156 22,321
141,581 174,470 180,634
Trade payables as at 30 June 2022 have been adjusted relating to
the impact of prior year acquisition measurement period adjustment
(see the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2022).
17. Borrowings
The Group has a debt facility dated 15 July 2021 with HSBC UK
Bank PLC, HSBC Innovation Bank Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, Fifth
Third Bank NA and The Governor and Company of the Bank of
Ireland.
At the outset this comprised two committed term loans, Term
Facility A, with an original commitment of $265.0 million available
to the Group until October 2025 and Term Facility B for $40.0
million, subsequently fully repaid in March 2022.
The facilities available also include a $50.0 million committed
Revolving Credit Facility (GBP39.6 million at the period-end
exchange rate) and a $50.0 million uncommitted accordion facility
(GBP39.6 million at the period-end exchange rate), both available
until July 2025. The term facility attracts variable interest based
on LIBOR plus a margin of between 1.25% and 2.75% per annum, based
on the Group's leverage to December 2023, following this it
attracts SOFR plus the margin discussed above and an adjusted
credit spread until repaid.
Term Facility A is repayable with quarterly instalments,
starting December 2022, of $9.6 million (c GBP7.6 million at the
period-end exchange rate) with the balance repayable on the expiry
of the loan in October 2025. Term Facility B was repayable in full
in April 2022 but was fully repaid early in March 2022.
The bank loan is secured by a fixed and floating charge over the
assets of the Group and is subject to financial covenants that are
tested quarterly based on a calendar year.
The financial covenants are that the Group must ensure that its
interest cover ratio is at least 4.0 times and its leverage ratio
does not exceed 3.0 times. The interest cover and leverage ratio is
not a statutory measure and so its basis and composition may differ
from other leverage measures published by other companies.
The interest cover ratio is the ratio of EBITDA to Finance
Charges and the leverage ratio is total net debt on the last day of
the relevant period to adjusted EBITDA for that relevant period.
Both numerator and denominator in each calculation comprise several
adjustments as defined in the debt facility agreement and as such
are not directly calculable from the financial statements.
The Group was compliant with all financial covenants throughout
the period and as at 30 June 2023, the Group's interest cover was
8.96 and its leverage ratio was 0.94.
The lease liabilities have arisen on adoption of IFRS 16 and are
secured by the related underlying assets.
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Current interest-bearing loans
and borrowings 31,220 23,845 36,714
Non-current interest-bearing loans
and borrowings 155,289 193,367 177,944
Current lease liabilities 4,162 8,194 5,082
Non-current lease liabilities 8,486 13,196 9,792
199,157 238,602 229,532
Net debt reconciliation
Net debt can be analysed as follows:
30 June 30 June 31 Dec
2023 2022 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
Cash and cash equivalents 78,132 71,933 94,847
Borrowings:
* Term loan (186,509) (217,212) (214,658)
Net debt (108,377) (145,279) (119,811)
18. Provisions
Property Litigation Onerous Closure Total
provisions and regulation contract provisions
provisions provisions
GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000 GBP'000
At 1 January 2022 1,075 6,489 1,024 - 8,588
Released to the income
statement (242) - (212) - (454)
Foreign exchange - - - - -
movement
At 30 June 2022 833 6,489 812 - 8,134
Charged / (released)
to the income statement 208 (3,769) (431) - (3,992)
Paid in the period (143) (2,260) - - (2,403)
Additions 204 - - 1,047 1,251
Foreign exchange
movements (99) 461 107 - 469
At 31 December 2022 1,003 921 488 1,047 3,459
Released to the income
statement - - (319) (62) (381)
Paid in the period (86) (11) - (718) (815)
Additions 6 - - - 6
Foreign exchange
movements (64) (37) (13) - (114)
At 30 June 2023 859 873 156 267 2,155
Current 325 873 156 267 1,621
Non-current 534 - - - 534
At 30 June 2023 859 873 156 267 2,155
The provisions as at 1 January 2022 have been restated to
include the impact of measurement period adjustments as described
in the Annual Report for the year ended 31 December 2022.
19. Assets and liabilities classified as held for sale
In December 2022, the Group decided to dispose a non-core
business as soon as practicable and communicated this decision
internally and to investors on 19 December 2022. This business was
acquired as part of the GP Strategies acquisition in October
2021.
Following its classification as held for sale the asset group is
held at the lower of fair value less costs to sell and net book
value.
19. Assets and liabilities classified as held for sale
(continued)
Effect of the assets and associated liabilities on financial
position of the Group
30 Jun 31 Dec
2023 2022
GBP'000 GBP'000
Non-current assets
Goodwill 501 501
Intangible assets 1,279 1,279
Property, plant and equipment 53 58
Right of use assets 143 173
1,976 2,011
Current assets
Trade receivables 3,629 5,299
Other receivables, deposits and prepayments 180 82
Amounts recoverable on contracts 910 977
4,719 6,358
Assets in disposal groups classified
as held for sale 6,695 8,369
Current liabilities
Lease liabilities 16 77
Trade and other payables 3,984 3,809
4,000 3,886
Non-current liabilities
Lease liabilities 137 98
Liabilities directly associated with
assets in disposal groups classified
as held for sale 4,137 3,984
The net assets held for sale as at 30 June 2023 exclude deferred
tax assets of GBP39,000 (31 December 2022: GBP39,000) and current
tax liabilities of GBP635,000 (31 December 2022: GBP412,000) which
remain within the Group tax position.
The Group expects to recover greater than the net book value
from the eventual sale which is progressing well and we expect to
provide a further update before the end of the year.
20. Events after the balance sheet date
On 5 September 2023, the Group sold its 17% investment in LEO
Brasil Tecnologia Educacional Ltda (formerly Epic Brasil Tecnologia
Educacional Ltda) for proceeds of R$3 million (GBP0.5 million),
realising a gain on sale of GBP0.4 million.
Glossary
Alternative Performance Measures
In reporting financial information, the Group presents
alternative performance measures ("APMs") which are not defined or
specified under the requirements of IFRS. The Group believes that
these APMs, which are not considered to be a substitute for or
superior to IFRS measures, provide stakeholders with additional
useful information on the underlying trends, performance and
position of the Group and are consistent with how business
performance is measured internally. The alternative performance
measures are not defined by IFRS and therefore may not be directly
comparable with other companies' alternative performance measures.
The key APMs that the Group uses are outlined below.
Closest Reconciling items Definition and purpose
equivalent to IFRS measure
IFRS measure
Income Statement Measures
Adjusted Operating Adjusting items Adjusted EBIT excludes adjusting
EBIT profit items. A reconciliation from
Adjusted EBIT to Operating profit
is provided in the Consolidated
statement of comprehensive income.
Adjusting None Refer to definition Items which are not considered
items part of the normal operating
costs of the business, are separately
disclosed because of their size,
nature or incidence are treated
as adjusting. The Group believes
the separate disclosure of these
items provides additional useful
information to users of the
financial statements to enable
a better understanding of the
Group's underlying financial
performance. An explanation
of the nature of the items identified
as adjusting is provided in
Note 6 to the financial statements.
Saas and Revenue Refer to Note 3 Saas and long-term contracts
long-term are defined as the revenue streams
contracts of the Group that are predictable
and expected to continue into
the future upon customer renewal.
Transactional Revenue Refer to Note 3 Transactional revenue is defined
as the revenue streams of the
Group that arise from one-off
fees or services that may or
may not happen again.
Balance Sheet Measures
Net cash None Refer to Note 17 Net cash / debt is defined as
or debt Cash and cash equivalents and
short-term deposits, less Bank
overdrafts and other current
and non-current borrowings.
A reconciliation is provided
in Note 17 to the financial
statements.
Total equity None Refer to definition Calculated as Total Equity at
per share the end of the period/year divided
by the number of shares in issue
at the end of the period/year,
The shares in issue at 31 December
2022 were 789,824,841 (based
on Note 26 of the 2022 Annual
report) and 791,160,022 at 30
June 2023.
Cash Flow Measures
Adjusted None Refer to definition Cash flow in the period after
operating accounting for operating activities
cash flow and capital expenditure.
Cash conversion None Refer to definition Adjusted operating cash flow
as a percentage of Adjusted
EBIT.
Free cash None Refer to definition Cash flow in the period after
flow accounting for operating activities,
investing activities, lease
payments, interest and tax.
Company information
Directors Registrar
Andrew Brode, Non-Executive Computershare Investor Services
Chairman plc
Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive The Pavilions
Officer Bridgewater Road
Kath Kearney-Croft, Chief Financial Bristol
Officer BS13 8AE
Piers Lea, Chief Strategy Officer
Simon Boddie, Non-executive Principal Bankers
Director HSBC UK Bank plc
Aimie Chapple, Non-Executive 71 Queen Victoria Street,
Director London, EC4V 4AL, UK
Leslie-Ann Reed, Non-Executive
Director HSBC Innovation Bank Limited
Alphabeta, 14-18 Finsbury Square,
Company Secretary London, EC2A 1BR , UK
Claire Walsh
Fifth Third Bank NA
Company number 142 W 57(th) Street,
07176993 Suite 1600,
New York, NY 10019, USA
Registered address
15 Fetter Lane Barclays Bank plc
Ground Floor 1 Churchill Place,
London London, E14 5HP, UK
England
EC4A 1BW The Governor and Company of
the Bank of Ireland
4(th) Floor, Bow Bells House,
Independent auditors 1 Bread Street,
BDO LLP London, EC4M 9BE, UK
Chartered Accountants and Statutory
Auditors
55 Baker Street Communications consultancy
London FTI Consulting LLP
W1U 7EU 200 Aldersgate
Aldersgate Street
Nominated adviser and joint London
broker EC1A 4HD
Numis Securities Limited
10 Paternoster Square
London
EC4M 7LT
Joint broker
Goldman Sachs
Plumtree Court
25 Shoe Lane
London
EC4A 4AU
Legal advisers
DLA Piper U.K LLP
160 Aldersgate Street
London
EC1A 4HT
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END
IR NKPBKDBKBOCB
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 26, 2023 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)
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