Hunters Property Plc, one of the UK’s largest franchised sales and lettings agency businesses, is pleased to announce its results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Financial highlights
- Network Income rose 1% to £39.4m (2017: £38.9m);
- EBITDA increased by 2% to £2.28m (2017: £2.23m);
- Adjusted Profit Before Tax (*adjusted to exclude amortisation, profit/loss on disposal of intangibles, acquisition costs, share-based payments, other gains and losses, investment income and notional finance costs) increased by 5% to £2.01m (2017: £1.92m);
- Adjusted EPS increased by 3% to 5.91p (2017: 5.76p);
- Net Assets stood at £7.7m (2017: £7.6m);
- Proposed 7% increase in Final dividend to 1.60p, increasing full year then by 9% to 2.40p (2017: 2.20p) for the year.
Operational highlights
- 201 branches as at 28 February 2019 (31 December 2017: 213)
- 124 new franchisee branches in the last five years. Average Network Income per converting branch has risen to £186,000 (2017: £173,000)
- Independent agents that have converted to Hunters, during the four years to 2017, have increased their revenue by 21%. Average Network Income per branch has risen 10% to £200,000 (2017: £182,000)
- Customer satisfaction rating 96% (2017: 95%)
Kevin Hollinrake, Chairman, commented:
“We are delighted to report another strong set of results in what has been a challenging market. In 2018, we increased Network Income, Income per branch, Customer Service Rating and adjusted both profit before tax and earnings per share under our strategy to attract and improve businesses. For 2019 we expect activity levels to remain subdued and the impact of the tenant fee ban disruptive in the short term. We see the developments in the sector as providing further opportunities and it remains our intention to invest in our technology to keep us in the best place to benefit for the longer term. We have opened seven branches already this year and I am pleased that we are seeing an increasing number of high quality independent businesses. I look forward to updating you further during the year.“
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