NCC Group plc (LSE: NCC, 'NCC' or 'the Group'), the independent global cyber security and risk mitigation expert, has reported its full year results for the 12 months to 31 May 2018.

Year end results
  • Group revenue from continuing operations grew by 8.3% to £233.2m (2017: £215.3m), Adjusted organic growth* was 11.8%
  • Group Gross Margin (GM%) gains of 4.9% pts with 5.3% pts in Assurance driven by improved utilisation of professional consultancy staff
  • Adjusted* EBITDA from continuing operations up 29% to £42.5m (2017: £33.0m)
  • Adjusted* EBIT from continuing operations grew 22% to £31.0m (2017: £25.5m)
  • Profit before tax recovered to £11.9m (2017: loss £44.8m)
  • Adjusted* basic earnings per share 8.3p (2017: 6.2p), adjusted effective tax rate of 22.4%
  • Net debt* reduced to £27.8m (2017: £43.7m)
  • Total dividend maintained at 4.65p per share with final dividend proposed of 3.15p per share

Strategic and Operational highlights

  • Good progress made on the implementation of the strategic review, new initiatives in place to broaden and deepen the strategic plan
  • Transformation programme launched under the brand 'Securing Growth Together' to invest £3.0m - £4.0m p.a. for the next two years. EBIT margin gains of c.1% p.a. targeted in the same period
  • Organisational restructure completed around geographical units and customer segments
  • Completed portfolio rationalisation with sales of Web Performance and Software Testing
  • Significant changes to the Board and Executive management team
  • Initiatives now underway to develop skills and capabilities as well as deepening industry specialisms and alignment

Chris Stone, Chairman, comments:

'We have made good progress against the strategic goals that we set for ourselves at the start of the year. The business has been successfully stabilised following a period of volatility. We have reorganised our senior management teams to improve our go-to market strategy. We have also maintained double digit organic* growth in our Assurance division, improved our Gross Margin ratio and completed the divestment of the two business units identified as non-core in the Strategic Review.

While much remains to be done, I am confident that the building blocks for long term sustainable improvement in business performance and shareholder returns are starting to be put in place.

The combination of continuing growth and improving margins in the two operating divisions will deliver year on year improvements in adjusted EBIT in 2019 while also allowing us to make considered and targeted investments to support the business transformation programme. Overall the Board's expectations for Adjusted EBIT in 2019 remain unchanged.'

Adam Palser, Chief Executive Officer, comments:

'The Group has excellent foundations on which to build a world leading cyber security and risk mitigation business. We are working to broaden and deepen the strategic plan developed in the early part of the year, its core findings remain robust and relevant and it is now being expanded with our 'Securing Growth Together' transformation programme.

Our markets remain buoyant, our high quality customer base continues to see us providing value added technical expertise and our staff remain committed to building a genuinely differentiated global cyber security and business continuity group of companies.'

A briefing for analysts will be held at 9:00am at the offices of Maitland, 3 HKX Building, Pancras Square, London N1C 4AG. The briefing will also be webcast live and can be accessed via this link: https://www.investis-live.com/nccgroup/5b23ba5f770844160050c3aa/1876

or on the NCC Group website www.nccgroup.trust

To read the press release in full, please click here

Enquiries:

NCC Group
+44 (0)161 209 5432

Adam Palser, CEO

Brian Tenner, CFO

Maitland
+44 (0)20 7379 5151

Neil Bennett / Al Loehnis

Published date: 17 July 2018

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NCC Group plc published this content on 17 July 2018 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 17 July 2018 06:06:09 UTC