REG - Norman Broadbent PLC - Trading Update

Norman BroadbentAnnouncement

16/01/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 7648Z  Norman Broadbent PLC  16 January 2024

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT RELATES TO THE DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION THAT QUALIFIED OR
MAY HAVE QUALIFIED AS INSIDE INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES OF ARTICLE 7 OF THE
MARKET ABUSE REGULATION (EU) 596/2014 AS IT FORMS PART OF UK DOMESTIC LAW BY
VIRTUE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION (WITHDRAWAL) ACT 2018.

 

Norman Broadbent plc

("Norman Broadbent" or the " Group")

 

Trading Update

 

Strategic turnaround delivers return to profitability and highest NFI and
EBITDA in over a decade

 

Norman Broadbent (AIM: NBB), a leading Executive Search and Interim Management
firm, provides the following trading update for the three months ended 31
December 2023 ("Q4 2023") and the year ended 31 December 2023 ("FY23"). The
figures used in this announcement remain subject to audit.

 

Q4 2023 Highlights

·    Group Net Fee Income ("NFI") up 13% to £2.6m (Q4 2021: £2.3m)

·    Q4 2023 positive run rate continuing into Q1 2024 with contracted
revenue up 15% to £1.5m (Q1 2023: £1.3m)

 

FY23 Highlights

·    NFI up 44% to £10.5m (FY 2022: £7.3m)

·    Underlying EBITDA(1) of approximately £0.9m, up more than £0.8m (FY
2022: £0.1m)

·    Profit before tax of approximately £0.3m, up over £0.6m (FY 2022:
loss before tax £0.3m) and net cash flow positive in the year

·    Early redemption and conversion of outstanding £0.4m convertible
loan notes

·    Net cash position improved to £0.4m(2) as at 31 December 2023 from
net debt of £1.1m(2) as at 31 December 2022

 

(1) excludes share based payment charges

(2) excluding lease liabilities

 

Kevin Davidson, Group CEO of Norman Broadbent, commented:

"Our strategic plan continues to deliver and I thank the whole team for their
outstanding performance. In the two years since we started this journey, and
amid challenging market conditions, we have almost doubled NFI, increased
profit before tax by over £0.9m, returned to meaningful profitability and
become net cash flow positive. This success is attributed to the strength of
our team, the quality hires we have made and our continued focus on
productivity improvements across the business.

 

While the executive search and broader recruitment markets were challenging in
2023, we have bucked the trend by growing the size of our team and still
delivered a strong set of financial results. In 2024, we plan to continue to
invest and pursue our aggressive growth strategy, whilst remaining profitable
and generating positive net cash flows. This will be organically led,
leveraging the renewed attractiveness of our brand proposition while exploring
synergistic acquisition opportunities as appropriate.

 

While being cognisant of the macroeconomic headwinds, the strong momentum
established across the business and some easing of inflationary pressures in
the economy mean that we are increasingly confident in our ability to
overachieve against our previously stated target of £1.25m of EBITDA in
2025."

 

For further information please contact:

 

 Norman Broadbent plc                                                                                                          +44 (0)20 7484 0000

 Kevin Davidson, CEO

 Mehr Malik,
 CFO

 Shore Capital (Nominated Adviser and Broker)                                                                                  +44 (0)20 7408 4090

 Tom Griffiths / Tom Knibbs (Corporate Advisory)

 Henry Willcocks (Corporate Broking)

 Alma (Financial Communications Adviser)                                                                                       normanbroadbent@almastrategic.com

 Rebecca Sanders-Hewett                                                                                                        +44 (0)20 3405 0205

 Kinvara Verdon

 David Ison

 

About Norman Broadbent:

 

Norman Broadbent (AIM: NBB) is a professional services firm focused on
executive search, senior interim management solutions and bespoke leadership
advisory services working across the UK and internationally.

 

Established as the first UK-headquartered search firm in 1979, the firm has a
40+ year track record of shaping leadership across industries including
Consumer, Financial Services, Industrials, Life Sciences, Investor and TMT.

 

www.normanbroadbent.com
(https://url.avanan.click/v2/___http:/www.normanbroadbent.com___.YXAxZTpzaG9yZWNhcDphOm86YzVkZGY3MWU5YmI4YjU3NzU2ZWIzMDc3OGYxNzk0YzQ6Njo0ZjRmOjA4ZTJhNzUyMGY0NzYwYTU0MjhlMzUyODQ1NmNjNmRlNWEyMDJiMTdhOTVlNTZiYmQ1ODI2NDJhODNlZDY1MjE6cDpU)

 

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