Revenue progression of 1.5% (with a decline in organic growth of 0.6%) despite interest rate headwind and H2 bias
o 100% client retention with new client wins across all divisions
New share registration clients including Arrow Global, Howden Joinery Group and J Sainsbury
New client wins including Aon Hewitt, British Bankers' Association and House of Fraser
New mandates including Alpha FX, Arix Bioscience, Global Ports, Ramsdens and Xafinity
o Renewal or extension of relationships with clients including
DS Smith, Imperial Brands, Lloyds Banking Group and Santander
New capabilities established:
o Credit bureau and credit servicing permissions secured following the acquisitions of Marketing Source and Gateway2Finance
o Increased scale and depth in the credit servicing market with the acquisition of Nostrum
o Planned entry to the US market with the proposed acquisition of Wells Fargo's Shareowner Services business to create a stronger, more diversified Group
EBITDA prior to exceptional items growth of 1.9% with margin of 21.6%; reflecting the impact of acquisitions made in the current and prior period and an improved margin from our core operations
EBIT of £14.1m reflecting the impact of £3.9m of exceptional items, related to the proposed acquisition of the Wells Fargo Shareowner Services business
Strong cash flow conversion of 109%; growth of 9.2% to £20.2m in free cash flow to equity holders driven by strong working capital management
Underlying EPS growth of 6.2% to 6.9 pence per share
Net debt of £258.2m post acquisition-related costs of £14.9m with leverage at 2.8x
Interim dividend growth of 6.7% to 1.75 pence per share, in line with progressive dividend policy
