Preliminary Results for the year ended 30 September 2007
29 January 2008
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JELF ANNOUNCES STRONG GROWTH ACROSS ALL AREAS OF THE BUSINESS
Jelf Group plc, an independent full-service brokerage that supports businesses and related individuals, announces robust performance across all areas of the business and another successful year of growth, both organically and through acquisitions.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Turnover has increased 62% to £40.6m (2006 : £25m), driven by increased cross-selling, winning new corporate clients and a number of strategic acquisitions
- EBITDA more than doubled to £7.2m (2006 : £3.5m), with EBITDA margins up 26% to 17.7% (2006: 14%), demonstrating an ongoing lift in margins due to improving business mix and economies of scale
- Normalised Diluted Earnings Per Share up 45% to 17.0p (2006: 11.7p)
- Operating margins have now grown by more than 70% since Jelf floated on AIM in October 2004, to 16.3%
OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS
- Highly active acquisition programme: nine acquisitions for the financial year ended 30 September 2007, including the two largest deals, SPS Wellbeing, a healthcare intermediary, and John Lampier, a Bristol-based insurance broker, which are performing in line with expectations
- Organic sales up 16%, including increased revenue from cross selling
- Installed new core operating system
- Strong repeat revenue with client retention more than 90% and healthy cash generation. Net cash inflow from operating activities was £9.0m (2006: £2.5m)
The Company is also pleased to announce that on 28 January 2008, it made three acquisitions. As detailed in an announcement dated 29 January 2008, Jelf acquired the entire issued share capital of Manson Insurance Group Limited (" Manson ") which provides Jelf with a presence in the North West of England. The Company also acquired Bartlett Davies Bicks Limited ("BDB") and Carter & Co. Risk Management Limited ("CRM"), which build on Jelf's presence in Devon. Jelf has also announced a conditional placing and subscription to raise approximately £47.0 million (before expenses).
Alex Alway, chief executive, commented:
"This ongoing strong performance has been the result of hard work throughout the year to drive growth across all areas of the business. We have an active acquisition programme and we are pleased with our organic growth, which is 16% this year. Market conditions continue to be competitive but Jelf remains well placed to deliver further growth in 2008."
ENQUIRIES
Jelf Group plc
Alex Alway, Chief Executive
01454 272713
Rose Clark, Director of Finance
01454 272853
Cenkos Securities plc
Ian Soanes 020 7397 8900
Pelham PR
Polly Fergusson
020 7743 6362
Damian Beeley
020 3178 2253