FCA moratorium - Delay to publication of results

RNS Number : 3417H

JTC PLC

24 March 2020

 

24 March 2020

JTC PLC

(the "Company" and together with its subsidiaries "JTC" or the "Group")

Delay to the publication of FY19 results as requested by the FCA and Company response to COVID-19

JTC, the global provider of fund, corporate and private client services today announces that it will be complying with the Financial Conduct Authority's ("FCA") strong request to all listed companies to delay the publication of preliminary financial statements for at least two weeks from 22 March 2020.

The Company's full year results for the year ended 31 December 2019, which were due to be announced on Wednesday 1 April 2020, will now be released once the Company and the market receives further advice from the FCA.

The Board remains confident that the Group will report audited results for 2019 in line with current analyst consensus forecasts[1] and Company guidance provided, as detailed in the Trading Update announcement of 23 January 2020.

COVID-19 Response

JTC is a global business that is well diversified across clients, services and geographies. We are fortunate to have an extremely resilient business model with the following key features that are relevant to the current situation:

· Highly visible recurring revenue that is not linked to the assets we administer. Around 90% of revenue is recurring with an average client lifespan of 10 years and negligible mid-life attrition. To date, we have not seen any material impact on revenue from COVID-19.

· Strong cash conversion. JTC is a highly cash generative business with a stable, capital light cost base and margins of c.30% underlying EBITDA. We use our cash prudently to reinvest in the business, facilitate inorganic growth and support our dividend policy.

· A robust balance sheet relative to our facility of £150m, with no debt falling due until 2023. Headroom on leverage at year end was c. 50% of our banking covenant.

· Prudent debt levels. We are comfortable with our leverage level and have maintained it within our guidance range of 1.5x to 2.0x underlying EBITDA to net debt.

· Ability to deliver 'business as usual' service to clients under prolonged business continuity conditions. We are a people business enabled by technology. Our well-invested global platform, including our IT infrastructure, means that all employees globally are able to remote work seamlessly as required.

· Experienced management team. We have a track record spanning 32 years and have demonstrated our resilience and ability to grow through several periods of substantial external change.

· Shared Ownership model. At JTC, every employee is an owner of the business and we are privileged to have such a dedicated and talented workforce who have already demonstrated how committed they are to the interests of our clients and other stakeholders.

The Group's day-to-day response to COVID-19 is coordinated by the JTC Business Continuity Planning ("BCP") team, which is overseen by the Board and led by the Executive Management team. The BCP team has been taking action based on three core principles:

WELLBEING - actions that will support and protect the wellbeing of our people, clients and partners

SERVICE - actions that will ensure continued service excellence to our clients whilst minimising impact wherever possible

COMMERCIAL - actions that will support all JTC stakeholders and minimise any long-term commercial impact to the Group.

As well as extensive internal and client communications, the Company has been providing public updates on its response to COVID-19 since Thursday 5 March 2020 and these can be found at www.jtcgroup.com/news/jtc-and-covid-19/

Nigel Le Quesne, CEO of JTC, said:

"The wellbeing of our people, clients and partners remains our top priority and we are following government advice in all the countries where we operate. Our talented global teams have already shown flexibility and commitment through their ability to move seamlessly to remote working on a large scale, ensuring the ongoing delivery of excellent client service. We are fortunate to have an extremely resilient business model with highly visible recurring revenues and good cash conversion, as well as a strong balance sheet and a relatively low level of leverage. During this difficult time, our efforts will continue to focus on people, service and the long-term commercial success of the Group as we all face this global challenge together."

-ENDS-

Enquiries:

JTC PLC    [phone]

Nigel Le Quesne, Chief Executive Officer 

Martin Fotheringham, Chief Financial Officer

David Vieira, Chief Communications Officer

Camarco  [phone]

Geoffrey Pelham-Lane 

Kimberley Taylor

Monique Perks

About JTC

JTC is an award-winning provider of fund, corporate and private client services. Founded in 1987, the company employs c.750 people across its global office network and is trusted to administer assets of c.US$110 billion.

JTC is committed to its shared ownership culture and philosophy, with management and staff holding over 20% of the equity in the firm, clearly aligning the interests of clients, employees and other stakeholders.

www.jtcgroup.com

Important Notices

The person arranging release of this announcement on behalf of JTC is David Vieira (Chief Communications Officer).

The release, publication or distribution of this announcement in jurisdictions other than the United Kingdom may be restricted by law and therefore any persons who are subject to the laws of any other jurisdiction should inform themselves about, and observe, any applicable requirements.  This announcement has been prepared for the purposes of complying with the Listing Rules and MAR and the information disclosed may not be the same as that which would have been prepared in accordance with the laws and regulation of any jurisdiction outside of England.

This announcement contains forward looking statements. No forward-looking statement is a guarantee of future performance and actual results or performance or other financial condition could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the fact they do not relate only to historical or current facts. They may contain words such as " may " , " will " , " seek " , " continue " , " aim " , " anticipate " , " target " , " projected " , " expect " , " estimate " , " intend " , " plan " , " goal " , " believe " , " achieve " or other words with similar meaning. By their nature forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to future events and circumstances. A number of these influences and factors are outside of the Company ' s control. As a result, actual results may differ materially from the plans, goals and expectations contained in this announcement. Any forward-looking statements made in this announcement speak only as of the date they are made. Except as required by the FCA or any applicable law or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.

 

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[1] https://www.jtcgroup.com/investor-relations/analyst-consensus/

 

END

 

 

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