FY23 Trading Statement
30/05/2023 07:00
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RNS Number : 8992A DWF Group PLC 30 May 2023
DWF Group plc
("DWF" or the "Company")
30th May 2023
FY23 Trading Statement
Revenue growth and cost control in a challenging environment
DWF, the global provider of integrated legal and business services, today
issues the following trading update for its financial year ended 30 April 2023
(FY23).
· The Group expects to report:
o net revenue of c£380m (unaudited) reflecting growth of more than 8%
o lock-up days at c190 days on a like-for-like basis(1) (FY22: 179 days) in
line with the half year position reflecting the expected stabilisation after
the H1 increase
· Highly confident in medium term guidance provided in July 2021,
underpinned by the cost programme which is now expected to remove in excess of
£15m of cost by end of FY24 (versus £10-12m reported in December 2022),
helping to protect the business from broader inflationary cost pressures
The Group continued to enjoy strong activity levels in the year, delivering
revenue growth of more than 8%. The transaction with Whitelaw Twining in
December 2022 boosted growth in a first-of-its-kind transaction for North
America, with the launch of a legal services offering in Toronto following
within 2 months of completion. Underlying organic growth for the Group is
expected to be 5%.
Whilst FY23 has enjoyed a greater degree of stability and normality compared
to the Covid-impacted prior periods, the H2 performance is notable due to the
acceleration in growth with 12% yoy revenue growth in Q3 and c14% in Q4.
This reflects the impact of the Group's Integrated Legal Management strategy
and ongoing key client focus, delivering integrated solutions to more Group
clients.
During H2 we have started to benefit from the impact of the cost programmes
tackling both direct and indirect costs, although most of the benefit is
expected to be seen in FY24 and beyond.
The Board are pleased with DWF's progress on revenue and costs in the context
of prevailing economic conditions and interest rate rises, and believes that
the performance compares favourably with the wider legal sector. Working
capital has stabilised as predicted at the half year, with lock-up days in
line with October 22 and expected to reduce in the near term.
Sir Nigel Knowles, Chief Executive Officer, said: "Our performance continues
to show how robust a business we are, even in a challenging environment. We
have delivered consistently strong revenue growth and underlying organic
growth, with the initial benefits of our cost control programme also coming
through. Our transaction in Canada has also given us great momentum in North
America, which is a geography that continues to be of high importance to our
future growth story. In combination, this gives us a high degree of optimism
as we begin FY24."
_________________________
(1) To enable a like-for-like comparison, the FY23 lock-up figure excludes
Whitelaw Twining
The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute
inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No.
596/2014 as it forms part of United Kingdom domestic law by virtue of the
European (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.
The person responsible for making this announcement on behalf of the Company
is Chris Stefani, Group Chief Financial Officer.
For further information:
DWF Group plc
James Igoe +44(0)7971 783533
Head of Communications & IR
Maitland/AMO
Sam Turvey +44(0)20 7379 5151
Sam Cartwright
About the Company
DWF is a global provider of integrated legal and business services. It has
approximately 4,000 people and offices and associations located across the
globe. The Company became the first Main Market Premium Listed legal business
on the London Stock Exchange in March 2019. DWF recorded net revenue of
£350million in the year ended 30 April 2022. For more information visit:
dwfgroup.com
Forward looking statements
This announcement contains certain forward‐looking statements with respect
to the Company's current targets, expectations and projections about future
performance, anticipated events or trends and other matters that are not
historical facts. These forward‐looking statements, which sometimes use
words such as "aim", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "plan" "estimate",
"expect" and words of similar meaning, include all matters that are not
historical facts and reflect the directors' beliefs and expectations and
involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause
actual results and performance to differ materially from any expected future
results or performance expressed or implied by the forward‐looking
statement.
LEI: 213800O9QREOHTOGQ266
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