20 September 2022

Half Year Results for the Six Months ended 30 June 2022

Financial highlights

  • Strong core1 revenue growth - up 9% to £27.1m (HY21: £24.9m)
  • Total revenue growth - up 2% to £32.2m (HY21: £31.7m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA2 - up 5% to £8.7m (HY21: £8.3m)
  • Improved adjusted EBITDA2 margin of 27.0% (HY21: 26.1%)
  • Adjusted PBT3 - up 15% to £6.9m (HY21: £6.0m)
  • Adjusted EPS4 - up 29% to 5.3p (HY21: 4.1p5)
  • Underlying operating profit to operating cash flow conversion6 of 124% (HY21: 135%)
  • Significant financial resources with £7.6m cash (HY21 net debt: £15.5m) and access to undrawn £45m Revolving Credit Facility

Operational highlights

  • Accelerated growth in proprietary advice software recommendations to >£42bn7, increasing data and insights footprint
  • Significant growth in Fintech software revenue (including proprietary and resell) of 17% to £7.7m (HY21: £6.6m) and product ratings revenue of 12% to £4.2m (HY21: £3.8m)
  • Core revenue growth of 9% in the period (HY21: 3%) driven by continued progress in converting existing revenues to 'Distribution as a Service', now having >60% of partner revenue converted, with full year outlook remaining in line with upper end of medium-term objectives8
  • Quality recurring revenues with 66% SaaS and subscription income in core business (HY21: 67%)
  • Industry leading services - Winner of ''Best Professional Adviser Service Company of the Year'', five years in a row

Matt Timmins, Joint CEO of Fintel plc, commented:

"Fintel has delivered a solid financial performance in the first half of the year, trading in line with expectations.

Growth in our core business has been strong, delivering increased revenues, earnings and cash, while maintaining EBITDA margin and quality of earnings (SaaS and Subscription revenues).

Fintel continues to benefit from changes in regulation and these regulatory tailwinds increase demand for both our Services and Fintech across our diverse customer base. The continued digitisation of our service model and scaling of our Fintech platform has been further strengthened by increased user adoption and development of new modules.

We are delighted to once again be recognised by our loyal and highly engaged customer base, winning the Professional Adviser Service Company of the year for the fifth consecutive year.

We have a strong balance sheet following the strategic divestment of non-core Zest Technology and Verbatim funds and the continued strong cash generation of the business. A cash surplus of £7.6m and access to an undrawn £45m Revolving Credit Facility provides a capital base to continue to invest in our growth opportunities.  

We are confident of meeting our full year expectations and longer-term growth ambitions."

 

1Core business excludes revenues from Panel Management and Surveying.

2Adjusted EBITDA is earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, share option charges and exceptional operating costs.

3 Adjusted PBT is calculated as adjusted profit before tax, which excludes exceptional operating costs and amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisition.

4Adjusted earnings per share is calculated as adjusted profit after tax attributable to owners of the Company, which excludes operating exceptional costs and amortisation of intangible assets arising on acquisition, divided by the average number of Ordinary Shares in issue for the period.

5Excluding the one-off uplift in the UK corporation tax rates from 19% to 25% in prior year, the HY21 adjusted EPS would have been 5.0p on a like-for-like basis. 

6Underlying cash flow conversion is calculated as underlying cash flow from operations (adjusted operating profit, adjusted for changes in working capital, depreciation, amortisation, CAPEX and share based payments) as a percentage of adjusted operating profit.

7Proprietary advice software recommendations are calculated on a 12-month rolling basis.

8 Medium term Core Revenue objective: Core revenue growth between 5% and 7% annually.

Notes to Editors

Fintel is the UK's leading fintech and support services business, combining the largest provider of intermediary business support, SimplyBiz, and the leading research, ratings and Fintech business, Defaqto.

Fintel provides technology, compliance and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses, data and targeted distribution services to hundreds of product providers and empowers millions of consumers to make better informed financial decisions. We serve our customers through three core divisions:

The Intermediary Services division provides technology, compliance, and regulatory support to thousands of intermediary businesses through a comprehensive membership model. Members include directly authorised IFAs, Wealth Managers and Mortgage Brokers.

The Distribution Channels division delivers market Insight & analysis and targeted distribution strategies to financial institutions and product providers. Clients include major Life & Pension companies, Investment Houses, Banks, and Building Societies.

The Fintech and Research division (Defaqto) provides market leading software, financial information and product research to product providers and intermediaries. Defaqto also provides product ratings (Star Ratings) on thousands of financial products. Financial products are expertly reviewed by the Defaqto research team and are compared and rated based on their underlying features & benefits. Defaqto ratings help consumers compare and buy financial products with confidence.

For more information about Fintel, please visit the website: www.wearefintel.com

 

Analyst Presentation

An analyst briefing is being held at 09:30 BST on 20 September 2022 via an online video conference facility. To register your attendance please contact Fintel@instinctif.com

 

For more information, please visit: www.wearefintel.com

 

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