JTC Delivers Accelerated Start To Cosmos Era With Strong Organic Performance And Strategic M&A

Global professional services business JTC has today announced strong interim results with record new business wins, organic growth above upgraded guidance at a stable margin even as the Group continues to invest in growth.

JTC, which is listed as a FTSE 250 company on the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”), reported a 21.1% increase in total revenue to £147.1m with very good net organic growth of 12.5%, ahead of its medium-term guidance that was revised upwards to 10%+ for it latest multi-year business plan, the Cosmos era. JTC also delivered record new business wins of £18.8m up 28.8% period on period, and an underlying EBITDA margin of 33.4%.

The Group has been able to conduct M&A activity at an impressive pace, adding four businesses to the platform in the period, as well as the post period announcements of Buck, a bolt-on that will form part of JTC’s Employer Solutions business, and the significant acquisition of Citi’s global trust company business, which will sit within the PCS Division and cement JTC’s position as the world’s largest independent trust company businesses.

JTC’s Private Client Services (PCS) Division revenue increased strongly by 46.1% to £59.6m (H1 2023: £40.8m) with sector-leading net organic growth of 13.9% (H1 2023: 18.6%) and a similarly impressive increase of 51.6% in underlying EBITDA to £22.3m (H1 2023: £14.7m). In particular, the performance of its US business has been strong, with the addition of SDTC to the existing platform, which celebrated its one year anniversary in August, and the addition of FRTC in Delaware, all providing additional scale and delivering performance in the high growth US market. Post period end, the Group announced the acquisition of Citi’s global trust company business which is a transformational deal for the Group and the Division.

The Group’s Institutional Client Services (ICS) Division, which focuses on fund and corporate services, saw revenues increase by 8.5% to £87.5m, and robust net organic growth of 11.9%. Three of the four acquisitions during the period now form part of the ICS Division, with FFP being the catalyst and a core pillar for a new Governance Services practice, which will be called Northpoint Governance Services.

Post period end, and in recognition of the tremendous success of its Galaxy era business plan, which ran from 2021 to 2023 and saw the Group double in size, JTC awarded £50m of ‘warehoused’ shares from its Employee Benefit Trust to its entire global workforce.

The Board has declared an interim dividend of 4.3p per share, an increase of 0.8p period on period (H1 2023: 3.5p).

Looking ahead, strong financial performance with impressive organic growth, record new business wins, continued high cash conversion and the ability to de-lever, along with an increased interim dividend, are testament to JTC’s ability to continue to deliver consistent growth.

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC PLC, added:

“We have made a strong start to the Cosmos era, with record new business wins, organic growth above our upgraded guidance at a stable margin even as we continue to invest in growth. A particular highlight has been our M&A activity with four acquisitions announced or completed during the period. Post period end, we were pleased to announce the acquisition of Buck as an addition to our Employer Solutions business and the significant acquisition from Citibank of Citi Trust, its global trust company business. This is a transformational deal for the Group and the PCS Division, cementing JTC as one of the world’s largest independent trust company businesses.

Our commitment to ownership for all employees remains our defining characteristic and while it did not fall directly within the period, I must mention our most recent Shared Ownership event, through which £50m of ‘warehoused’ shares from our Employee Benefit Trust, were awarded to our global workforce in recognition of their collective achievement to double the size of the Group in just three years by delivering our Galaxy Era plan. As always, I thank our employee owners for their dedication to our clients and for bringing the JTC culture to life.”