CPPGroup Plc, the partner focused, global product and services company, today announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
The Group made further strong progress in its international revenues and customer numbers led by India and Turkey. Further investment has been made in start-ups and technology that will underpin future product development. The European business has been restructured and the UK back book business well managed.
Highlights
- Group revenue increased by 13% to £110.1 million (2017 restated: £97.0 million) continuing the strong growth seen in 2017.
- Revenue from Ongoing Operations increased by 27% to £88.0 million (2017 restated: £69.4 million).
- Adjusted underlying operating profit increased by 6% to £5.5 million (2017 restated: £5.2 million).
- Currency depreciation in our growth markets, notably India and Turkey, adversely impacted reported results. At constant currency:
– Group revenue increased 18%.
– Revenue from Ongoing Operations increased 35%.
– Revenue in India increased by 54% to £65.3 million (2017: £42.5 million).
– Revenue in Turkey increased by 41% to £4.5 million (2017: £3.2 million).
– Adjusted underlying operating profit increased by 14%. - Underlying operating profit declined to £3.0 million (2017 restated: £4.3 million).
- Exceptional costs include £3.5 million in relation to restructuring activities in Europe and the UK. This action has streamlined operations and is expected to generate annual cost savings of between £4.0 million and £4.5 million.
- Profit before tax reduced to £0.3 million (2017 restated: £3.8 million).
- Strategic investments in KYND, Valeos and Globiva to enhance technology-led product capability and drive efficiencies in our value chain.
- Worldwide customer numbers across our 12 countries grew by 50% to 8.2 million (2017: 5.5 million) led by India and Turkey.
Note – all percentage change figures in the remainder of this report are presented on a constant currency basis, unless otherwise stated. The constant currency basis retranslates the previous year measures at the average actual exchange rates used in the current financial year. This approach is applied as a means of eliminating the effects of exchange rate movements on the year-on-year reported results.
Financial highlights
£ millions | 31 December 2018 | 31 December 2017 | Change | Constant currency change |
Group | ||||
Revenue | 110.1 | 97.0 | 13% | 18% |
Adjusted underlying operating profit2 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 6% | 14% |
Investment in business growth projects3 | (2.5) | (0.9) | (168)% | (169)% |
Underlying operating profit4 | 3.0 | 4.3 | (29)% | (23)% |
Profit before tax | ||||
− Statutory | 0.3 | 3.8 | (91)% | (90)% |
− Underlying4 | 3.5 | 4.2 | (16)% | (7)% |
(Loss)/earnings per share (pence) | ||||
− Basic | (0.04) | 0.55 | (107)% | n/a |
− Diluted | (0.04) | 0.53 | (108)% | n/a |
Net funds | 26.0 | 31.5 | (17)% | n/a |
Segmental revenue | ||||
Restricted Operations – revenue | 22.0 | 27.7 | (20)% | (20)% |
Ongoing Operations – revenue | 88.0 | 69.4 | 27% | 35% |
1. Results for the year ended 31 December 2017 have been restated to reflect the adoption of IFRS 15. See note 15 to the condensed financial statements.
2. Adjusted underlying operating profit excludes costs associated with investments in business growth projects, exceptional items and Matching Share Plan (MSP) charges.
3. Investment in business growth projects of £2.5 million (2017: £0.9 million) comprises start-up costs relating to the UK £0.7 million (2017: £0.1 million), Blink £1.4 million (2017: £0.8 million), Bangladesh £0.2 million (2017: £nil) and our share of losses in KYND £0.2 million (2017: £nil).
4. Underlying operating profit and underlying profit before tax exclude exceptional items of £3.1 million (2017: £0.1 million) and MSP charges of £0.1 million (2017: £0.3 million). Further detail of the exceptional items is provided in note 5 to the condensed financial statements.
Jason Walsh, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“2018 has been a year of continued strong progress for the business. We have stayed true to the core principles of our strategy and have delivered strong revenue growth and fundamentally shifted the dynamics of the business. We have the platform to seize the opportunities that exist with our partners to provide them with the products and services we excel in.
Our global footprint is expanding gradually and we are continuing to deepen our partner and product reach in markets where we see significant growth potential. We are growing strongly in India and Turkey and are excited about our recent launch into Bangladesh and the prospects for our Chinese business now the technical infrastructure is complete.
We are looking to the future with increasing confidence and expect further strong strategic and operational progress in 2019.”
cppgroup