21 August 2019 – interim results
Interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2019 have been released. Although revenue was down slightly to £175.5m (2018: £178.3m), net fee income was £36.3m (2018: £34.0m). Adjusted profit before tax slipped from £4.7m to £3.7m and adjusted diluted earnings per share fell from 5.0p to 3.3p. No interim dividend was declared, as is the norm. Adjusted net debt was £18.1m at the period end, up from £17.1m at 31 December 2018 and this is expected to reduce in the second half. Full year market expectations for profit remain unchanged. We keep our BUY rating.