Preliminary Results

RNS Number : 9904Z

Personal Group Holdings PLC

26 March 2012

 



Press Release

26 March 2012

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

("Personal Group" or "the Group")

ANNOUNCEMENT OF RESULTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011

Personal Group Holdings plc (AIM: PGH), a leading provider of employee benefits and financial services, reports its results for the year ended 31 December 2011.

Highlights

·	Record profit before tax up 6.8% to £10.0m (2010: £9.4m)
·	Annualised value of new business generated up 13.9% on 2010
·	Revenue up 1.6% to £27.5m (2010: £27.0m)
·	EBITDA basic earnings per share up 3.9% to 34.2p (2010: 32.9p)
·	Dividend increased 2.4% to 17.4p (2010: 17.0p)
·	Group in strong position to capitalise further on the opportunities in the employee benefits sector

The Annual General Meeting will be held on 30 April 2012 at 1:00pm at Milton Keynes Theatre, Marlborough Gate, Central Milton Keynes, MK9 3NZ.

Mark Scanlon, Chief Executive of Personal Group, commented:

"Once again we have seen good growth in our business in the period. Particularly pleasing is our annualised value of new business generated which has grown by 13.9% on 2010. We have a strong base from which to build and now is our opportunity to capitalise on this position. With my appointment the board has signalled its commitment to investing for the future. In the forthcoming period we will build our management team with our initial focus on continuing to grow sales. This will inevitably have an effect on our cost structure in the short term but is clearly designed to improve earnings in the medium and long term.

Our core business will not change and will indeed continue to grow but we have the opportunity to extend our offering and improve our attractiveness to the market. This will take place by way of offering more products and services to our customers but a key area of development for us is technology. This will serve to increase our productivity and penetration within our customer base and also attract more customers to Personal Group for the first time. Our business model is innovative with significant barriers to entry for our competitors, and we intend to develop this position further in the coming months and years."

Enquiries:

Personal Group Holdings Plc	Tel: [phone] (on 26/3/12)
Mark Scanlon / Ken Rooney / John Barber	Tel:[phone] (thereafter)
Abchurch Communications
Joanne Shears / Mark Dixon	Tel: [phone]
Cenkos Securities plc
Stephen Keys	Tel: [phone]

Notes to editors:

Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM: PGH) is a leading provider of employee benefits and financial services, established in 1984 with clients across the UK.

The group primarily provides tailored employee benefits programmes to businesses throughout the UK. These programmes include insurance products such as hospital and convalescence plans; death benefit and income protection plans; lifestyle benefits such as holiday and retail discounts; flexible benefit programmes; a range of tax efficient benefits such as childcare vouchers; and employee assistance programmes. The group generates the majority of its revenue through the underwriting of hospital and convalescence plans.

Through its expertise in producing, communicating and implementing successful benefit solutions, the group has helped over 400 leading UK companies recruit, retain and motivate the best people. In total the group provides access to benefits for 1.2 million employees, and clients include 3663, Brake Bros, Home Retail Group, Northumbrian Water Limited, Pirelli, Starwood Hotels, TNT, UK Mail, Regatta, Road Chef and Vinci Construction.

The group boasts considerable financial strength, with a track record of profitable growth since 1986, as well as a strong pipeline of new business. For the year ended 31 December 2011 the group reported revenue of £27.5 million. With a strong balance sheet and a progressive dividend policy, Personal Group's vision is to be the provider of choice in employee benefits and financial services. The group's development to date has been achieved principally through strong organic growth.

Personal Group is headquartered in Milton Keynes, was floated on AIM in 2000 and today employs over 160 people.

For further information, go to www.personal-group.com.

Chairman's Statement

Business Review

2011 has been another year of very strong growth for Personal Group.

Profit before tax (PBT) is up 6.8 per cent, to £10.0m. EBITDA is up 3.9 per cent, to £10.2m. Earnings per share are up 9.7 per cent, to 24.8p. Each of these comparisons is with 2010, which itself was a record year in all these areas.

Our balance sheet has been further strengthened through the addition to reserves of £2.2m. Shareholders' funds at 31 December 2011 were £25.7m (2010: £23.5m) representing 85p (2010: 78p) per share.

These results reflect the consistently strong levels of new business generation in our personal hospital, convalescence, death benefit and voluntary group income protection ("VGIP") plans. Annualised value of new business generated for these core products in 2011 is 13.9 per cent higher than the previous record year, 2010.

Of particular note is the group's annual commission income for our death benefit plan, which has grown by 24.3 per cent in the past two years, to £2.9m. VGIP commission also increased in 2011 to a record level, albeit from a lower level of activity than our other core products.

During the year our underwriting subsidiary Personal Assurance Plc ("PA") handled 30,648 hospital plan, convalescence plan and income protection plan claims (2010: 29,511), the vast majority of which were settled within 48 hours. The gross claims ratio of PA was slightly lower in 2011 than in 2010 and remains in line with levels experienced in previous years.

The group has continued during the year to identify new areas for profitable growth within a framework of limited risk exposure. With effect from 1 July 2011 PA has begun to underwrite private medical insurance business sold by Universal Provident Limited ("UP") an insurance intermediary specialising in private medical expenses insurance which Personal Group acquired as part of the Berkeley Morgan Group ("BMG") in 2005. We have had the opportunity over the past six years to monitor the UP gross claims loss ratio which, although at a higher level than PA experiences in relation to its core products, has nevertheless shown itself to be a sufficiently attractive risk to justify our participation. PA is accepting 20 per cent of the claims risk, having put in place a substantial reinsurance programme.

Arrangements have also been made for PA to begin to underwrite the VGIP plan with effect from 1 January 2012. For these policies PA is initially accepting only 10 per cent of the claims risk, as a 90 per cent quota share agreement has been arranged.

The disposal of Personal Insurance and Reinsurance Brokers Limited to Robert Pease, a former director, was completed during the year and this further enables the group to focus on the core business.

There have been significant developments during the year within BMG, our IFA and broker subsidiary. The disposal of Rapidinsure.co.uk Limited was completed in November 2011, resulting in a net profit on disposal of £0.3m. With the implications of the Retail Distribution Review coming into effect from 1 January 2013, the decision has been taken no longer to accept new investment business into Berkeley Morgan Limited ("BML") with effect from 1 April 2012. General insurance will not be affected. Whilst this will adversely affect BML revenue in the future, substantial cost savings relating to compliance and other support services should ensure that the ongoing profitability of BML in the next few years should not be adversely affected.

Despite these changes within BMG during 2011 it has performed in line with our expectations, and no impairment of the carrying value of the goodwill has been necessary.

New Chief Executive

I am particularly pleased to mention the arrival of Mark Scanlon as the new chief executive, as announced on 29 November 2011. Mark brings new energy and drive to our senior management team along with a successful track record of business development in other sectors. We look forward to working with him in the further realisation of the growth potential which Personal Group enjoys. Following Mark's appointment Ken Rooney has resumed his previous role of group operations officer. In his short tenure during 2011 as chief executive he has made a very considerable impact on the business, for which we thank him.

Balance Sheet

The group balance sheet remains strong, with no material debt. PA's balance sheet has available qualifying assets as at 31 December 2011 of £10.2m. These provide a margin of solvency which allows PA to write further significant increases in premium income without the requirement for new capital. The board expects this to remain the case when Solvency II is introduced.

The impact of the transfer of UP business to PA last year, referred to previously, has been insignificant in terms of revenue and profit in 2011, although the effect on the group balance sheet has been more noticeable. UP's private medical expenses plans are annual policies, with the bulk of the premiums being collected by monthly direct debit. In the group balance sheet this has resulted in substantial increases in the value of trade and other receivables, and in trade and other payables.

Dividends and Dividend Policy

Our first quarterly dividend for 2012 of 4.45p (2011: 4.35p) per share has already been announced and paid. Following the pattern re-established last year, if business continues as anticipated we expect to pay further dividends of the same amount in June, September and December 2012. This would make dividends payable in 2012 of 17.8p (2011: 17.4p) per share, an increase of 2.3 per cent.

Prospects for 2012

Our core products continue to enjoy strong demand and to be very well received. Their further development and growth represent an exciting business opportunity for which the group is well positioned and resourced, not least with our new chief executive now in post. We are therefore looking to a period of investment for growth which in the shorter term is likely to be reflected in some cost increases. In addition Solvency II compliance will continue to require significant additional costs which we have not had to incur in previous years. As a result we expect a continuing increase in operating revenues which, given the future investment in the business, is expected to feed into profit growth after 2012.

The continuing success of Personal Group in what remains an extremely challenging economic environment reflects the attractiveness and resilience of our products and is a great testimony to the skill and hard work of our employees and associates and to the loyalty of our host companies and policy holders. My fellow directors and I thank you all.

Chris Curling

Chairman

23 March 2012

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011

		Note	2011	2010
			£'000	£'000
Gross premiums written			20,581	18,429
Outward reinsurance premiums			(721)	-
Change in unearned premiums			(1,291)	33
Change in reinsurers' share of unearned premiums			539	-
Earned premiums net of reinsurance		1	19,108	18,462
Other income:
Insurance related		1	6,391	6,749
Non-insurance related		1	1,427	1,252
Investment property		1	293	300
Investment income		1	259	280
Revenue			27,478	27,043
Claims incurred			(3,899)	(3,854)
Insurance operating expenses			(8,348)	(7,813)
Other expenses:
Insurance related			(3,149)	(3,979)
Non-insurance related Investment property			(2,123) (91)	(1,812) (121)
Charitable donations			(100)	(80)
Expenses			(17,710)	(17,659)
Results of operating activities			9,768	9,384
Profit on disposal of subsidiary undertaking		2	250	-
Finance costs			(3)	(3)
Profit before tax			10,015	9,381
Tax		3	(2,592)	(2,622)
Profit for the year			7,423	6,759

The profit for the year is attributable to equity holders of Personal Group Holdings Plc.
Earnings per share as arising from total and continuing operations			Pence	Pence
Basic		4	24.8	22.6
Diluted		4	24.8	22.6

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011

	2011	2010
	£'000	£'000
Profit for the year	7,423	6,759
Other comprehensive income
Available for sale financial assets:
Valuation changes taken to equity	(60)	65
Reclassification of gain on available for sale financial assets on derecognition	(18)	(4)
Income tax on unrealised valuation changes taken to equity	21	(17)
Total comprehensive income for the year	7,366	6,803

The total comprehensive income for the year is attributable to equity holders of Personal Group Holdings Plc.

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2011

			2011	2010
			£'000	£'000
ASSETS
Non-current assets Goodwill			2,900	3,000
Property, plant and equipment			5,475	5,611
Investment properties			3,185	3,185
Financial assets			14,536	7,578
			26,096	19,374
Current assets Trade and other receivables			5,231	3,091
Cash and cash equivalents			2,043	7,075
			7,274	10,166
Total assets			33,370	29,540

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AT 31 DECEMBER 2011

			2011	2010
			£'000	£'000
EQUITY
Equity attributable to equity holders
of Personal Group Holdings Plc
Share capital			1,503	1,503
Capital redemption reserve			24	24
Amounts recognised directly into equity
relating to available for sale financial assets			(28)	29
Other reserve - own shares			(652)	(605)
Profit and loss reserve			24,810	22,573
Total equity			25,657	23,524
LIABILITIES
Non-current liabilities
Deferred tax liabilities			204	212
Current liabilities
Provisions			100	117
Trade and other payables			6,043	4,255
Current tax liabilities			1,252	1,338
Borrowings			114	94
			7,509	5,804
Total liabilities			7,713	6,016
Total equity and liabilities			33,370	29,540

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011

Equity attributable to equity holders of Personal Group Holdings Plc

		Share capital	Capital redemption reserve	Non-current assets held for sale	Other reserve - own shares	Profit & loss reserve	Total equity
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance as at 1 January 2011		1,503	24	29	(605)	22,573	23,524
Dividends		-	-	-	-	(5,194)	(5,194)
Employee share-based  compensation		-	-	-	-	18	18
Proceeds of AESOP share sales		-	-	-	-	80	80
Cost of AESOP shares sold		-	-	-	90	(90)	-
Cost of AESOP shares purchased		-	-	-	(137)	-	(137)
Transactions with owners		-	-	-	(47)	(5,186)	(5,233)
Profit for the year		-	-	-	-	7,423	7,423
Other comprehensive income
Available for sale financial assets:
Valuation changes taken to equity		-	-	(60)	-	-	(60)
Reclassification adjustment on   derecognition		-	-	(18)	-	-	(18)
Current tax on unrealised   valuation changes taken to equity		-	-	21	-	-	21
Total comprehensive income for the year		-	-	(57)	-	7,423	7,366
Balance as at 31 December 2011		1,503	24	(28)	(652)	24,810	25,657

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2010

Equity attributable to equity holders of Personal Group Holdings Plc

		Share capital	Capital redemption reserve	Non-current assets held for sale	Other reserve - own shares	Profit & loss reserve	Total equity
		£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance as at 1 January 2010		1,503	24	(15)	(714)	20,940	21,738
Dividends		-	-	-	-	(5,074)	(5,074)
Employee share-based  compensation		-	-	-	-	22	22
Proceeds of AESOP share sales		-	-	-	-	187	187
Cost of AESOP shares sold		-	-	-	261	(261)	-
Cost of AESOP shares purchased		-	-	-	(152)	-	(152)
Transactions with owners		-	-	-	109	(5,126)	(5,017)
Profit for the year		-	-	-	-	6,759	6,759
Other comprehensive income
Available for sale financial assets:
Valuation changes taken to equity		-	-	65	-	-	65
Reclassification adjustment on   derecognition		-	-	(4)	-	-	(4)
Current tax on unrealised   valuation changes taken to equity		-	-	(17)	-	-	(17)
Total comprehensive income for the year		-	-	44	-	6,759	6,803
Balance as at 31 December 2010		1,503	24	29	(605)	22,573	23,524

PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS PLC

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2011

			2011	2010
			£'000	£'000
Operating activities
Profit after tax			7,423	6,759
Adjustments for   Depreciation			446	449
Profit on disposal of subsidiary undertaking			(250)	-
Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment			(15)	(12)
Realised and unrealised net investment losses/(profits)			36	(34)
Interest received			(284)	(218)
Dividends received			(19)	(17)
Interest paid			3	3
Share-based payments			18	22
Taxation expense recognised in income statement			2,592	2,622
Changes in working capital
Trade and other receivables			(2,145)	(407)
Trade and other payables			1,771	427
Taxes paid			(2,665)	(2,536)
Net cash from operating activities			6,911	7,058
Investing activities
Net proceeds from sale of subsidiary undertaking			350	-
Additions to property, plant and equipment			(390)	(736)
Proceeds from disposal of property plant and equipment			100	113
Purchase of own shares by the AESOP			(137)	(152)
Proceeds from disposal of own shares by the AESOP			80	187
Purchase of financial assets			(12,242)	(5,135)
Proceeds from disposal of financial assets			5,170	3,354
Interest received			284	218
Dividends received			19	17
Net cash used in investing activities			(6,766)	(2,134)
Financing activities
Proceeds from bank loans			137	152
Repayment of bank loans			(117)	(224)
Interest paid			(3)	(3)
Dividends paid			(5,194)	(5,074)
Net cash used in financing activities			(5,177)	(5,149)
Net change in cash and cash equivalents			(5,032)	(225)
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year			7,075	7,300
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year			2,043	7,075

Notes

1.      The group operates two trading operating segments, namely employee benefits insurance and consultancy; and financial services offered by Berkeley Morgan Group Limited (BMG) and its subsidiary undertakings.

1)                        Employee benefits insurance and consultancy

Personal Assurance Plc (PA), a subsidiary within the group, is an FSA regulated general insurance company and is authorised to transact accident and sickness insurance. It was established in 1984 and has been underwriting business since 1985. In 1997 Personal Group Holdings Plc (PGH) was created and became the ultimate parent undertaking of the group.

This operating segment derives the majority of its revenue from the underwriting by PA of insurance policies that have been bought by employees of host companies via bespoke benefit programmes.

Insurance related income includes insurance and reinsurance brokerage commission. Insurance brokerage commission includes that derived from voluntary group income protection plan sales.

Non-insurance related income includes income derived from the sale of benefit books, consultancy services and property rental income.

2)                        Financial services

The financial services operating segment consists exclusively of revenue generated by BMG and its subsidiary undertakings. BMG was acquired by PGH in January 2005.

Financial services revenue consists mainly of commission generated by financial advisers and commission generated from insurance underwriting agencies.

	Employee benefits £'000	Financial services £'000	Unallocated £'000	Consolidation adjustments £'000	Group £'000
Operating segments
2011
Revenue
Earned premiums net of reinsurance Other income:	19,108	-	-	-	19,108
Insurance related	3,233	3,158	-	-	6,391
Non-insurance related	1,427	-	-	-	1,427
Investment property	-	-	293	-	293
Investment income	258	1	-	-	259
Total revenue	24,026	3,159	293	-	27,478
Net result for year before tax	8,860	1,050	202	(97)	10,015
Segment assets	26,551	734	3,185	2,900	33,370
Segment liabilities	6,675	1,002	36	-	7,713
Depreciation and amortisation	427	10	9	-	446
2010
Revenue
Earned premiums net of reinsurance Other income:	18,462	-	-	-	18,462
Insurance related	2,996	3,753	-	-	6,749
Non-insurance related	1,252	-	-	-	1,252
Investment property	-	-	300	-	300
Investment income	277	3	-	-	280
Total revenue	22,987	3,756	300	-	27,043
Net result for year before tax	8,512	676	179	14	9,381
Segment assets	21,178	2,177	3,185	3,000	29,540
Segment liabilities	4,537	1,435	44	-	6,016
Depreciation and amortisation	428	12	9	-	449

The revenue and net result generated by each of the group's operating segments are summarised as follows:

All income is derived from the UK.

2.      Profit on disposal of subsidiary undertaking comprises sale proceeds £400,000, less legal and professional fees £50,000, and carrying value of goodwill eliminated on disposal £100,000.

3.      Taxation comprises United Kingdom corporation tax of £2,605,000 (2010: £2,698,000), and deferred taxation credit of £13,000 (2010: £76,000).

4.      The basic and diluted earnings per share are based on the profit for the financial year of £7,423,000 (2010: £6,759,000) and on 29,871,611 basic (2010: 29,870,303), 29,876,181 diluted (2010: 29,874,448) ordinary shares, the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year.  The EBITDA per share are based on the earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and goodwill impairment, but excluding profit on disposal of a subsidiary undertaking for the financial year of £10,214,000 (2010: £9,833,000).

5.      The total dividend paid in the year was £5,194,000 (2010: £5,074,000), which is equivalent to 17.4 pence (2010: 17.0 pence) per share.

This preliminary statement has been extracted from the 2011 audited financial statements that will be posted to shareholders in due course.  The statutory accounts for each of the two years to 31 December 2010 and 31 December 2011 received audit reports, which were unqualified and did not contain statements under section 498 (2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.  The 2010 accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies but the 2011 accounts are not yet filed.

- Ends -

 

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