REG - Personal Group - Trading Update

Personal groupAnnouncement

27/01/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 7659Z  Personal Group Holdings PLC  27 January 2022

   27 January 2022

 

Personal Group Holdings plc

("the Company" or "Group")

 

Trading Update

 

Trading in line with expectations with encouraging rebound in insurance sales
in H2

 

Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH), the workforce benefits and services
provider, is pleased to provide the following update for the financial year
ending 31 December 2021. The Company expects to publish its results for FY
2021, together with notification of its final dividend, on 29 March 2022.

 

Financial Highlights

 

·      Overall trading for FY 2021 was in line with market expectations
with revenue of approximately £75m (2020: £72m) and adjusted EBITDA of
approximately £6m (2020: £10m).

·      Robust balance sheet with cash position in excess of £22m as at
31 December 2021 (2020: £20.2m).

 

Operational Highlights

 

·      A strong return to face-to-face insurance sales activity in H2,
with good momentum from the Group's return into Royal Mail Group in line with
the contract signed in the second half of 2020.

·      86 new client wins secured in the year across the Group and
continued high levels of engagement with existing clients.

·      Significantly progressed our offering with the onboarding of our
first client onto our new product Hapiflex, a multifaceted version of the
Group's core benefits digital platform, designed to meet the need of
enterprise clients.

·      Continued strong performance in H2 from our pay and reward
consultancy business, Innecto.

·      Our consumer technology benefits business, Let's Connect, held up
well in challenging circumstances around stock availability.

·      Sage Employee Benefits platform continued to go from strength to
strength, with the number of SME clients rising from 30 to c1,500 over the
year, delivering an increased gross Annual Recurring Revenue of £1.6m.

 

Despite a longer than anticipated lockdown in H1 and continued uncertainty
throughout the year the Board believes that the Group's performance in FY21 is
testimony to the resilience and continued relevance of the business model and
growth strategy. Solid progress has been made in achieving the Group's
strategic aim to widen its footprint to multiple sectors of the UK workforce,
alongside continued investment in digital channels, putting the business on
track for future growth.

 

Outlook

 

Our market has never been more relevant. In 2021 employers increasingly
focussed their efforts on supporting their employees, thanks to an
increasingly competitive job market together with a growing appreciation of an
employers' responsibility to look after staff. This trend is set to continue
accelerating into 2022.

 

This has been demonstrated in the good start we have made to the current
financial year. Despite the disruption of the Omicron variant in the early
part of January, our face-to-face insurance sales have continued unabated, and
we have seen 11 new client wins across the Group.

 

With a strong balance sheet, quality customer base and leading technology
platform we are well placed to capitalise on opportunities that arise as
employee health and wellbeing rises further up the Board agenda and we look to
the future with confidence.

 

Deborah Frost, Chief Executive of Personal Group, commented:

 

"I am delighted with what we achieved strategically in 2021 with each business
division demonstrating its ongoing relevance to employers while continued
innovation underpins faster and broader growth in the future. We have a
diverse range of offerings available with propositions suitable for every type
of UK business, whether that be a large enterprise, a public sector
organisation, or an SME.

 

Looking forward, our growth ambitions remain front of our minds and we are
pleased to have begun FY22 strongly with further new client wins and exciting
partnerships in play. We have a compelling offering, a leading software
platform and an excellent team in place and are fully focused on executing our
plans to create value for all our stakeholders."

 

 

-ENDS-

 

 

For more information please contact:

 

 Personal Group Holdings Plc
 Deborah Frost (CEO) / Sarah Mace (CFO)            Via Alma PR

 Cenkos Securities Plc
 Camilla Hume / Callum Davidson (Nomad)            +44 (0)20 7397 8900
 Russell Kerr (Sales)

 Alma PR                                           +44 (0)20 3405 0205
 Susie Hudson / Lily Soares Smith / Faye Calow     personalgroup@almapr.co.uk (mailto:personalgroup@almapr.co.uk)

 

 

Notes to Editors

Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is an employee benefits and services
provider. The Group enables employers across the UK to improve employee
engagement and support their people's physical, mental, social and financial
wellbeing. Its vision is to create a brighter future for the UK workforce.

Personal Group provides health insurance services and a broad range of
employee benefits, engagement, and wellbeing products. Its offerings can also
be delivered through its proprietary app, Hapi, and the recently developed
extension to the platform, Hapiflex.

The Group's growth strategy is centred around widening the footprint of the
business into the SME, talent-led & Public Sectors, thereby expanding the
addressable customer base. In addition, it aims to grow in its existing
industrial heartlands, to re-invigorate growth in insurance policyholders and
to drive the use of its SaaS offerings.

Clients include: Arsenal FC, Barchester Healthcare, Merseyrail, Randstad,
Royal Mail Group, The Royal Mint, the Sandwell & Birmingham NHS Trust,
Stagecoach Group plc., and The University of York. c.40% of clients are served
by two or more group companies.

For further information on the Group please see www.personalgroup.com
(http://www.personalgroup.com)

 

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