Revenue growth of 26%; underpinned by 7% organic revenue growth and growth across all divisions
12% revenue growth from cross-selling and up-selling to our top 24 accounts
Strategic acquisitions of Selftrade and TransGlobal Payment Solutions contributed to organic growth in 2015 and, together with the acquisitions of KYCnet and RiskFactor made in Q1 2016, will fuel organic growth going forward
EBITDA prior to exceptional items growth of 23% with margin of 23.4%, reflecting investment in growth and regulatory costs
EBIT of £10.2m after the impact of exceptional costs primarily associated with listing on the London Stock Exchange
Cash flow conversion of 113%; operating cash flow increase of 35% to £97.6m
Leverage significantly reduced to 2.8x following restructuring of the balance sheet, strong working capital management (reduction of £11m) and timing of certain IPO fees paid post year end (£16m)
Recommended dividend of 0.68p per share, pro-rated full year proforma dividend of 4.08p per share, in line with our stated policy
Premium listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2015
Commenting on the Group's results, Guy Wakeley, Chief Executive, said:
"I am delighted to be presenting a strong set of results that demonstrate continued progress in line with the strategic objectives that we laid out at IPO. In addition to delivering a successful listing, we have secured major client wins and developed and deployed a number of new services and technology capabilities. Strong top line progression is supported by 7% organic growth, with all divisions growing well organically, underpinned by the long-term trends in the markets in which we operate.
"Our broad range of services, mainly non-discretionary in nature, with revenue visibility of >90% for 2016 and >80% for 2017, positions Equiniti as a resilient and disciplined business, well placed to continue to grow, unaffected by uncertainty in the macro-economic environment."
Dividend per share
The Board has proposed a dividend, subject to shareholder approval, of 0.68p per share for the period from admission on 30 October 2015 to the year end. This will be paid on 10 May 2016 to shareholders on the register on 1 April 2016. This represents an equivalent full year dividend of 4.08p per share. Going forward, we intend to adopt a progressive dividend policy, which will see us distribute around 30% of our normalised profit attributable to ordinary shareholders each year.
