Iomart Group PLC Pre-close Trading Statement (0878B)
31 March 2017 - 5:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMIOM
RNS Number : 0878B
Iomart Group PLC
31 March 2017
Date: 31 March 2017
On behalf of: iomart Group plc ("iomart" or the "Group")
Embargoed until: 0700hrs
iomart Group plc
Pre-close Trading Statement
iomart Group plc (AIM:IOM), the cloud computing company, is
pleased to provide its pre-close trading statement for the year
ending 31 March 2017 ahead of the announcement of its full year
results.
Group Trading Performance
The Board is pleased to report that iomart expects to deliver
another excellent set of results.
For the year to 31 March 2017, the Group expects to show revenue
growth of approximately 17% and adjusted EBITDA(1) of approximately
GBP36.6 million (FY2016: GBP32.3 million), in line with market
consensus expectations. In addition we expect to report a 19%
increase in adjusted(2) profit before tax to approximately GBP22.4
million (FY2016: GBP18.9 million).
Over the period, the Group has delivered good growth in both
revenue and profit and the Board anticipates that growth will
continue in the future.
Operations
The Cloud Services segment has continued to win a substantial
amount of new business over the year, benefiting from the growing
adoption of cloud services by organisations that need a strong
partner with the necessary infrastructure, skills and experience to
provide the certainty, scalability and flexibility they require.
Cloud Services also benefitted from the full year contribution of
SystemsUp which was acquired in June 2015. The choices for
businesses considering a move to the cloud are ever more complex
and iomart's ability to provide consultancy and services across the
whole cloud spectrum, including public, private and hybrid cloud,
leaves us well positioned for future growth.
Easyspace has performed in line with expectations, which has
seen it return to organic revenue growth after the decline in
FY2016, and has benefitted from a full year contribution of United
Communications which was acquired in November 2015.
Dividends
We have previously announced a progressive dividend policy under
which we would pay a dividend of up to a maximum of 25% of the
adjusted diluted earnings per share for the financial year. In the
previous financial year, the payout ratio was 22%. In line with
past performance the Group has continued to generate high levels of
operating cash over the year and in addition we are currently
carrying a very low level of gearing with our net debt likely to be
around one third of our adjusted EBITDA at the end of this
financial year. Consequently, the Board has decided to review the
upper limit of the dividend payout ratio. As a result, we now
intend to increase the maximum payout ratio to 40% of adjusted
diluted earnings per share. The Board anticipates announcing a
payout ratio for the current financial year in excess of the
previous maximum level of 25% when the results for the year are
reported.
Board Change
Following 18 years of service Sarah Haran has decided to pursue
other interests and so will stand down from the Board with
immediate effect. The Board would like to express its thanks to
Sarah for her long term contribution to the success of the Group
over many years and wish her well for the future.
Notice of Results
The Group expects to report its results for the year to 31 March
2017 on Tuesday 13 June 2017.
Angus MacSween, CEO of iomart Group plc, stated:
"iomart has delivered yet another year of exciting growth. The
long term opportunity remains very real and iomart continues to
broaden its cloud skills, experience and breadth of management to
ensure it is well positioned for future growth. Our strong balance
sheet and our increasing cashflow leaves us in good financial
health. I would like to add my personal thanks to Sarah Haran who
has made a significant contribution to the success of iomart for
many years."
(1) adjusted EBITDA means earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation, amortisation, share based payment charges,
acquisition related costs and non-recurring acquisition items and
in the previous year a gain on revaluation of contingent
consideration.
(2) adjusted profit before tax means profits before, tax, share
based payment charges, amortisation of acquired intangibles,
acquisition related costs, non-recurring acquisition related items,
mark to market adjustments in respect of interest swap
arrangements, interest charges on contingent consideration and in
the previous year the accelerated write off of arrangement fees on
the bank borrowing facility which was repaid early during that year
and a gain on revaluation of contingent consideration.
For further information:
iomart Group plc Tel: 0141 931 6400
Angus MacSween
Richard Logan
Peel Hunt LLP Tel: 020 7418 8900
(Nominated Adviser
and Broker)
Richard Kauffer
Euan Brown
Alma PR Tel: 020 8004 4218
(Financial PR)
Caroline Forde
Hilary Buchanan
John Coles
Helena Bogle
About iomart Group plc
iomart Group PLC (AIM: IOM) helps organisations maximise the
flexibility, cost effectiveness and security of the cloud. From
strategy to delivery, our 300+ consultants and solutions architects
provide the cloud expertise to transform your business. With a
dynamic range of managed cloud services that integrate with the
hyper clouds of AWS and Azure, our agnostic approach delivers
solutions tailored to your specific requirements. iomart is a long
term supplier to G-Cloud and our infrastructure and cloud and
backup services are designed to meet the requirements of the UK
public sector. To find out more about our managed cloud services
visit www.iomart.com For our cloud consultancy visit
www.systemsup.co.uk
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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