Knights Group meets revenue forecasts in first half

(Sharecast News) - Legal and professional services provider Knights Group reported a 6% increase in first-half revenue on Thursday, reaching £75.3m, in line with its expectations. The AIM-traded firm said underlying EBITDA was ahead 25% year-on-year to £18.2m for the six months ended 31 October, while profit before tax jumped 68% to £6.9m.

Basic underlying earnings per share increased 21% to 9.99p, with reported basic earnings per share growing 54% to 5.34p.

The company improved its debtor days to 31 and reduced lock-up days to 93, and reported net debt of £38.3m, which included a cash outlay of £7.5m related to acquisition consideration and other non-underlying costs.

Its board declared an interim dividend of 1.61p per share.

On the operational front, Knights Group hired 20 senior fee earners during the period, up from nine in the prior year's first half.

Staff churn decreased from 11% to 6%, while the firm expanded its share of larger client spending and successfully embedded its pricing strategy.

The company said it continued its cost discipline by leveraging post-acquisition synergies and driving efficiencies across the organisation.

In terms of acquisitions, Knights expanded its presence in the North with the acquisition of St James' Law in Newcastle and Baines Wilson in Carlisle.

The acquisitions had integrated well, and were performing as expected.

Additionally, Knights Group hired five partners in both Bristol and Newcastle, further solidifying its growth prospects.

Dave Wilson was appointed as non-executive chairman, who the board said would bring extensive plc, international board-level and operational experience to its leadership.

Looking ahead, Knights Group said it was optimistic about its current trading performance, which remained in line with expectations.

In November, it secured a new £70m revolving credit facility to support its growth.

Despite macroeconomic pressures, Knights said it was confident in the resilience of its business, its ability to attract and retain quality talent, and its capacity to retain clients.

"Knights has delivered a good performance in the period, reflecting our sharp focus on driving profitability and organic growth and the resilience provided by our diversified services, capabilities, and client base," said chief executive officer David Beech.

"We are delighted with the strong momentum in recruitment and retention in the half, which is testament to the attractiveness of our scale, reputation and model, the efforts of our client service directors, and enhancements we have made to our employee proposition, benefits and engagement.

"Together with improved retention across the business, this influx of high-calibre talent will underpin organic growth in the future."

Beech said the company continued to expand its relationships with larger clients.

"Whilst mindful of macroeconomic conditions, trading in the second half is in line with the board's expectations and we continue to focus on driving organic growth and efficiency, providing a strong platform for future acquisitions."

At 1605 GMT, shares in Knights Group Holdings were up 0.68% at 120.81p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.