Financial services provider JTC has hailed a good start to the year after beating its upgraded guidance after a flurry of acquisitions.
The acquisitive fund management firm, which is a FTSE 250 constituent, reported revenue of £147.1m in the six months to 30 June, a 21.1 per cent rise on the year prior.
Earnings before interest, tax, debt and amortisation (EBITDA) also grew drastically, up 27.3 per cent to £46.4m, and its EBITDA margin grew one percentage point to 31.6 per cent.
Profit before tax soared by 67 per cent to £19.9m. And its operating profit jumped from £24.7m to £31.9m 67 per cent.
Nigel Le Quesne, chief executive of JTC, said: “We have made a strong start to the Cosmos era [an stage of the firm’s growth strategy], with record new business wins, organic growth above our upgraded guidance at a stable margin even as we continue to invest in growth.”
The bumper results follow an acquisitive period for the Jersey-based firm, which floated on the London Stock Exchange in 2018 and signed four deals in the reporting period.
In April JTC snapped up one of First Republic’s trust administration arms from JP Morgan Chase, and in June it acquired Cayman-based fiduciary services firm FFP.
The firm has continued in the same vein since June, inking a deal for employer services firm Buck UK in August and Citi’s US-based fiduciary business Citi Trust earlier this week.
The flurry of deals has led to the firm becoming increasingly levered. At the end of June, its net debt had risen to around £150.5m, up £105.9m.
Le Quesne added: “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.”