(Alliance News) - Alpha Group International PLC on Thursday reported "exceptional" annual earnings, but said the macro environment "could remain challenging".

The London-based company, which provides financial solutions to corporate and institutional clients, said pretax profit more than doubled to GBP115 million in 2023, from GBP47.2 million the year before.

Alpha Group said revenue rose 12% to GBP110 million from GBP98.3 million. Underlying pretax profit grew 10% to around GBP42 million from GBP47.2 million, while the underlying profit margin was unchanged at 39%.

Alpha Group also noted that in the fourth quarter, Alternative Banking client balances rose by 31% against the same period in 2022, to GBP2.1 billion from GBP1.6 billion.

However, the company said that while the revenue and underlying profit growth showed "the appeal and resilience of our offering", the rate of underlying growth was slightly lower than expected thanks to "prevailing economic headwinds throughout the year".

"In simple terms, 2023 showed that in a higher interest rate environment, underlying growth becomes more challenging, but the cash and statutory profit from interest income becomes exceptional - a trade-off that, in reality, creates significant opportunities for Alpha's long-term growth prospects," explained Chief Executive Officer Morgan Tillbrook.

"Nonetheless, as a business that strives for high levels of performance, we very much remain focused on delivering strong underlying growth, and so whilst this additional income is a boost, as a team, it is not one by which we will be measuring our own success."

Alpha Group International shares were down 3.0% at 1,640.00 pence on Thursday afternoon in London.

By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter

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