Knights Group Holdings PLC Trading Update (2441G)
24 November 2020 - 6:00PM
UK Regulatory
TIDMKGH
RNS Number : 2441G
Knights Group Holdings PLC
24 November 2020
Knights Group Holdings plc
("Knights", the "Company" or the "Group")
Trading Update for the Six Months ended 31 October 2020
Investor Event and Notice of Results
Robust financial performance and excellent cash generation
-- Revenue of c.GBP46m representing growth of 44% (H1 20: GBP32m)
-- Underlying adjusted PBT of c.GBP6m representing growth of 13.2% (H1 20: GBP5.3m)
-- Excellent cash conversion
-- Net debt as at 31 October 2020 GBP14.4m (FY 20: GBP15.9m)
-- Gross margins were maintained at c45%, despite a 15% impact
on revenue from COVID(1) , related disruption to our clients
-- Trading has continued to recover through September and
October, reaching near pre-COVID levels; full salaries resumed for
employees from 1 November
-- Acquisition of OTB Eveling LLP announced separately today
Knights, the fastest growing legal services business over the
last four years(2) , today provides a trading update for the half
year ended 31 October 2020.
The Company has continued to enjoy steadily improving levels of
activity since the COVID impact in April and is pleased to report
that October saw activity, including new business instructions,
recover to near pre COVID levels. There has been no meaningful
impact from either the regional restrictions in October or the
national lockdown in November. The robust first half year
performance and current trading levels give the Board confidence
that the Group is trading in line with market expectations for the
full financial year.
Given the Group's robust performance, the Board was able to
remove all previously announced salary cost-reductions from 1
November. In the first half, Knights integrated the three
acquisitions completed in April ahead of plan, all of which have
contributed in H1 21 as expected.
The Group recruited 28 new senior fee earners during the first
half, compared to 7 new senior fee earners in the same period last
year, in line with the Group's focus on hiring senior, high calibre
people typically with strong client relationships, to support
ongoing organic growth for the Group.
The Group's continued focus on lock up days has delivered
excellent cash conversion. Net debt at 31 October 2020 is GBP14.4m
(FY 20: GBP15.9m).
The Company will next provide an update on trading when it
announces its half year results on 19 January 2021.
David Beech, CEO, commented:
"We have seen a strong recovery in activity levels since the
sudden impact of COVID at the end of our last financial year. Our
business is both well positioned and resilient, which gives us
confidence in our ability to navigate the current economic
turbulence.
"Building on our recent successful integration of three
acquisitions and recruitment of high calibre partners from other
top 50 law firms, we look forward to continuing our growth, both
organically and through selected acquisitions."
Investor event
Knights is holding a virtual Investor Event at 14:00 today via
webcast. No new material information will be disclosed during the
event. If you are interested in attending, please register by
emailing Knights@mhpc.com or by calling 020 3128 8168.
Notes
(1) Excluding the impact of all six FY 20 acquisitions
(2) Ranked number one for revenue growth over the last four
years in the recently published Lawyer's Top 100 Survey
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms
and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information
contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an
anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services.
For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange
use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy
Policy.
END
TSTFEAFUDESSESF
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 24, 2020 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)
Knights (LSE:KGH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Knights (LSE:KGH)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024