MAIDENHEAD, England,
August 6, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Unaudited Results 2018 2017 (restated[1])
Six months to 30 June
Total Continuing Discontinued Total
GBPm GBPm GBPm GBPm
Revenue 143.1 139.2 2.0 141.2
Adjusted EBITA[2] 12.0 8.3 (3.1) 5.2
Profit before tax 7.8 6.0 14.9 20.9
Basic earnings per share 6.8p 4.8p 18.1p 22.9p
Adjusted diluted earnings
per share[3] 10.8p 7.0p (3.8p) 3.2p
Net cash 22.5 26.1
Free cash flow[4] 10.5 (1.5)
Free cash flo
conversion[5] 78% (16)%
Financial highlights from Continuing Operations
- Revenue up 2.8% to £143.1m (H1 17: £139.2m), constant currency
revenue growth[6] of 6.0%
- Group Gross profit margin improved to 52.9% (H1 17: 50.5%)
- Adjusted EBITA grew 45% to £12.0m (H1 17: £8.3m), inclusive of
£2.8m (net) capitalised research and development expenditure (H1
17: £nil)
- Profit before tax increased 30% to £7.8m (H1 17: £6.0m)
- Basic earnings per ordinary share up 42% to 6.8p (H1 17:
4.8p)
- Adjusted diluted earnings per share grew 54% to 10.8p (H1 17:
7.0p)
Operational highlights
- Good progress against our transformation plan and stated
strategic objectives
- Sharpened focus on higher value premium services content has
positioned the Group for H2 growth
- Helix programme showing ongoing momentum and delivering
benefits - on track with business case
- Investment in new products delivering largest ever pre-sales
orders for our updated product - Studio 2019 launched last
month
Subsequent events
- The Group completed the acquisition of Donnelley Language
Services for $77.5m on 22 July 2018. This acquisition gives SDL
greater exposure to the premium growth verticals and creates
significant opportunity for revenue and cost efficiencies. The
acquisition is expected to be earnings accretive in 2019
Adolfo Hernandez, SDL Chief
Executive, said:
"I am pleased to report that SDL has had a good start to the
year. Importantly, we have been able to balance underlying
operational progress, on-boarding customers onto our Helix
platform, the evolution of our go-to-market strategy and investment
in innovation with good financial results showing revenue growth,
gross margin expansion and cost discipline. I expect these
initiatives to continue to bear fruit in the second half of 2018
and beyond. Furthermore, the acquisition of Donnelley Language
Solutions accelerates parts of our premium services strategy and
provides the opportunity to apply the same operational improvement
initiatives to the acquired business over time. The outlook for the
full year is in line with management expectations."
About SDL PLC
SDL (LSE: SDL) is the global leader in content creation,
translation and delivery. For over 25 years we've helped companies
communicate with confidence and deliver transformative business
results by enabling powerful experiences that engage customers
across multiple touchpoints worldwide. Are you in the know? Find
out why 85 of the top 100 global companies work with and trust us
on SDL.com. Follow us
on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
References:
[1] Prior year numbers have
been restated to reflect the adoption of IFRS 15: Revenue from
Contracts with Customers. Further details are provided in
Note 11.
[2] Adjusted EBITA: Operating
profit from Continuing Operations (H1 18: £7.8m, H1 17: £6.0m)
before acquisition related amortisation (H1 18: £0.5m, H1 17:
£2.3m) and Exceptional items (H1 18: £3.7m, H1 17: £nil)
[3] Adjusted earnings: Profit
after tax before the impact of exceptional items, acquisition
related amortisation and profit on disposal of discontinued
businesses
[4] Free cash flow: Cash
generated from operations after interest and tax costs, maintenance
capital expenditure and capitalised Research and Development
expenditure.
[5] Free cash flow conversion:
Free cash flow generated from / (used by) the business expressed as
a % of adjusted EBITDA from Continuing Operations.
[6] Constant currency revenue
growth: Calculated by applying 2018 monthly exchange rates to the
2017 monthly results. Average rates for the Group's two principal
foreign currencies (USD and €) are set out in the CFO review.
SOURCE SDL plc