Abbey Protection Share Discussion Threads

[masurenguy] 12/9/2012 15:40

The shares go XD on Friday (14/9) and the interim dividend of 2.1p is due for payment on October 9th.

[masurenguy] 12/9/2012 15:36

Some trade press comment on last weeks interim results

Tax unit performance bolsters Abbey Protection H1 profits

Abbey Tax Protection's 17% profit surge offsets flat performance elsewhere

Legal fees insurance provider Abbey Protection's pre-tax profits rose 3%, to £5.2m, in the first half of 2011 (H1 2011: £5m) thanks to a 17% increase in profits at its Abbey Tax Protection (ATP) division. Abbey said that while sales from its core fee protection product remained strong, ATP's increase in profit to £1.8m (H1 2011: £1.6m) was mainly driven by sales of specialist consultancy and tax planning insurance products.

The profit growth at ATP offset flat profits of £1.2m at Abbey Legal, which comprises Abbey Legal Protection and Abbey Legal Services. However, Abbey described the performance at Abbey Legal
as "robust" because some revenue streams were affected by a significant client going into administration at the end of 2011.

Underwriting slump

ATP's performance also counteracted a slump in profits at Abbey's reinsurance underwriting division, Ibex, which provides reinsurance for the ATP and Abbey Legal Protection insurance products. Ibex's profit dropped 8%, to £1.97m (H1 2011: £2.15m) thanks to continued low investment yields and an increase in its aggregate claims ratio to 69.7% (H1 29011: 65.2%). However, Abbey said: "Despite the increase in the aggregate claims ratio, we remain satisfied with the overall stability of the underwriting results and the anticipated range of ultimate loss ratios across the various underwriting years."

Non-core divisions

First-half performance in Abbey's other divisions was "mixed", the company said.
The after the event (ATE) division more than doubled its profit contribution to £0.2m. Sales of the accident line product were up 12%. Although results stabilised in the marketing arm of Abbey's Accountax division, the overall profit contribution reduced in the first half of the year, with the consulting division concentrating on converting a number of key clients to annual retainer contracts with a short term impact on accounted revenue. Abbey HR the business-to-business human resources consultancy, made a positive profit contribution for the first time of £0.1m.

Abbey Protection H1 2012 segmental profit in £000 (compared with H1 2011)

Abbey Legal Protection: 1,243 (1,241)
Abbey Tax Protection: 1,820 (1,551)
Accountax: 9 (38)
Insurance underwriting (Ibex): 1,967 (2,149)
Other segments: 152 (53)
Total: 5,191 (5,032)

[masurenguy] 11/9/2012 09:32

#128: "I wonder how soon it will be before the 90p shareprice threshold is breached for the first time ?"

It actually took a week - 90p reached for the first time this morning, with a 5K Buy at that price ! :o)

[masurenguy] 05/9/2012 11:50

Looks like more institutional midprice trading with 350,000 shares changing hands @88.75p this morning.

[masurenguy] 04/9/2012 09:55

The most recent Buy this morning @89p represents a new ATH. I wonder how soon it will be before the 90p shareprice threshold is breached for the first time ? If the H2 dividend is also increased by 11% that
will take it to 4.9p for the full year, which would represent a yield of 5.5% at a buying price of 89p.

[masurenguy] 04/9/2012 07:29

Further good progress during H1. An increase in revenue, profits and eps, cash & cash equivalents up by 18% to £20.4m, further improvement in cashflow and interim dividend increased by 11%. The company is still waiting for their ABS license from the SRA but is hopeful that this could be approved during H2 which would open up further revenue and income streams thereafter.

RNS Number : 4042L
Abbey Protection PLC
04 September 2012

Interim Results for the six months ended 30 June 2012

Highlights

· 3% growth in pre-tax profits to £5.2m

· Total revenue up 5% to £19.2m

· Claims ratio at 69.7%

· Earnings per share up 4% to 3.95p

· Shareholders' funds up to £30.4m

· Interim dividend increased by 11% to 2.1p per share (2011: 1.9p per share)

· Outlook positive with significant opportunities for specialist legal and tax services

Colin Davison, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "These results once again demonstrate the resilience of the Group's businesses in challenging economic conditions. The Group's principal trading divisions, driven by an excellent performance from Abbey Tax Protection, have produced another period of revenue and profits growth. The robust nature of our business model and the exciting opportunities to expand our range of legal and tax services underpin our confidence in increasing the interim dividend by 11%."

Chief Executive's Statement

We approached 2012 with a degree of caution in the light of some expected headwinds in the business and the challenging wider economic climate, so a 5% increase in revenue to £19.2m (2011: £18.3m) and a 3% increase in pre tax profits to £5.2m (2011: £5.0m) represent an encouraging result. A strong performance from the Tax division helped our principal trading divisions (Abbey Legal and Abbey Tax) to increase profits by 10% to £3.1m (2011: £2.8m) and off-set the anticipated down turn in the Ibex results where profits dropped 8% to £2m (2011: £2.1m).

Current trading - principal trading divisions

Abbey Tax Protection ("ATP") delivered excellent results with profit before tax for the period increasing by 17% to £1.8m. Whilst sales from our core fee protection product remained strong, the key drivers behind the growth for ATP were sales of our specialist consultancy and tax planning insurance products.
Although profits for Abbey Legal, comprising Abbey Legal Protection ("ALP") and Abbey Legal Services ("ALS"), were flat for the period at £1.2m, this represents a robust performance as some revenue streams were impacted by a significant client going into administration at the end of 2011. Renewal rates for our existing scheme and affinity clients were strong and £0.75m of new business in the first half of the year has demonstrated that the pipeline remains healthy. An increase in the aggregate claims ratio to 69.7% (2011: 65.2%) at Ibex, our reinsurance subsidiary for ALP and ATP insurance business coupled with continued low investment yields, meant that the overall profit contribution from Ibex for the first six months of 2012 reduced to £2.0m. Despite the increase in the aggregate claims ratio, we remain satisfied with the overall stability of the underwriting results and the anticipated range of ultimate loss ratios across the various underwriting years.

Current trading - other trading divisions

Trading within our other divisions was mixed in the first half of the year. The After the Event ("ATE") division more than doubled its profit contribution to £0.2m with sales of the Accident Line product, which were up 12%, particularly buoyant. Although results stabilised in the marketing arm of our Accountax division, the overall profit contribution reduced in the first half of the year, with our consulting division concentrating on converting a number of key clients to annual retainer contracts with a short term impact on accounted revenue. Abbey HR ("AHR"), the business to business human resources consultancy, continued its improvement with a positive profit contribution for the first time of £0.1m. At the beginning of the year, we entered into a new venture, Abbey Property Facilities Ltd ("APF") which is 60% owned by the Group. This business markets and administers services to assist owners of vacant commercial property to mitigate their commercial rates liabilities. The result for the first six months, reflecting start up costs, attributable to the Group was a loss of £0.1m.

Cash flow and investment income

Cash flow for the period has returned to normal levels with net cash flow from operating activities at £2.6m (2011: £0.9m). First half cash flows are impacted by the timing of certain annual expense payments (including annual staff bonuses) and other timing issues. Accordingly, cash flows for the second half of the year are expected to be stronger. We remain committed to paying trade suppliers within contractual terms whilst providing flexible terms for our customers where possible and appropriate. We now expect investment returns to remain low for an extended period but we continue to follow our low risk investment strategy of holding cash, short term deposits and certificates of deposit.

Dividend

The board is delighted to approve an increase of 11% in the interim dividend to 2.1p per share (2011: 1.9p per share), payable on 9 October 2012 to all shareholders on the register at 14 September 2012.

Outlook

We remain cautiously optimistic for the remainder of 2012, with our core trading divisions having demonstrated the resilience of their business models and the ability to contribute sufficient growth to counter balance the headwinds that we know the business will face during the remainder of the year. We are still awaiting final authorisation by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) of our Alternative Business Structure (ABS) licence, which will enable us to deliver a wider range of legal services, although we remain hopeful that the technical issues delaying the process will be resolved shortly. We therefore look to the future with some optimism, with some exciting opportunities to expand our range of legal and tax services.

[yoyoy] 04/9/2012 07:23

everything up - will the shareprice follow?

[masurenguy] 03/9/2012 16:15

Some sizeable midprice transactions ahead of tomorrows results.

[masurenguy] 31/8/2012 13:29

Interims due next Tuesday (4/9). Shareprice currently sitting @87.5p, just marginally under the ATH.

[masurenguy] 15/8/2012 17:08

Another all time closing high @87.625 once again today. Expecting an improved interim dividend of circa 2.7p (with a potential final of 2.1p still to come) when the interims are published in 3 weeks time.

[masurenguy] 15/8/2012 14:51

Currently quoting 88.06p to Buy 5000 shares online - a new ATH. This is the first time that the actual quote - as distinct from the headline Offer price - has breached 88p !

[masurenguy] 13/8/2012 10:42

Insurers plan their own legal DIY to hammer down costs

Several big insurance companies are considering setting up their own law firms in an attempt to cut the cost of fighting disputes. In a move that could transform Britain's legal market, the insurers are aiming to exploit new ownership regulations to beef up their own internal legal departments and reduce the amount they spend on handling litigation relating to personal injury, product liability, professional negligence and other claims, according to research by Espirito Santo Investment Bank. >>>More.............



Abbey have been diligently preparing to exploit this opportiunity, in legal areas that are synergetic to
their existing businesses for some time. Hopefully there will be some positive news on the acquisition
of their ABS license in the statement that accompanies the publication of their results in 3 weeks time.

"We had expected that by now we would have obtained a licence to become an Alternative Business Structure (ABS) following the de-regulation of the legal services market. This would allow us to offer a wider range of legal services to our clients. However these licences have been delayed and we now hope that we will be granted one in the first half of this year. Our plans are well advanced and through a combination of scaling up our in-house capabilities and acquiring an equity stake in a law firm, we are
well positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in this market..........Our application is now with
the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) and we are hopeful that we will be licenced shortly. We will
then be able to execute our plans to expand the range of legal services we offer." RNS 27/3/12

[masurenguy] 08/8/2012 16:35

Yet another all time high closing price - 87.0p - today !

[masurenguy] 07/8/2012 22:16

Closed at another all time high of 86.625p today !

[masurenguy] 07/8/2012 15:22

It looks like there has been a cross trade between two institutions of 330,000 shares @87p, which is showing as two separate buys of 330,000 shares. It provides a nice validation of the ongoing upward
trend in the shareprice, which has now advanced by 11.5% over the past 2 months.

[masurenguy] 07/8/2012 10:50

A new all time intraday high today with a buy above 87p for the very first time ! :-)

[masurenguy] 25/7/2012 15:44

Interims due in 6 weeks, on Tuesday September 4th.

[masurenguy] 23/7/2012 16:58

Closed at a new all time high of 86.25p today ! Quite an impressive performance on such a big down day in the market with the FTSE All Share closing down 2.1% and AIM closing down 2.5%.

[masurenguy] 17/7/2012 16:34

Todays close equalled the all time high closing price of 86p on 7th December 2010 !

[masurenguy] 17/7/2012 15:56

Looks like some significant trades between institutional investors have taken place at the midprice today !

[masurenguy] 06/7/2012 10:12

The gradual upward trajectory continues - another 2012 high @83.4p this morning. Could we soon exceed the all time high of 85.5p back in December 2010 - the excitement is quite perceptible ! I hope that you've got some tranquilisers to hand, mranon :0)

[mranon] 05/7/2012 09:19

Keep up the good work Mas.
Looking very solid

[masurenguy] 05/7/2012 09:10

Still edging up on miniscule volumes - another 2012 year high achieved this morning !

[masurenguy] 15/6/2012 15:08

Despite the recent market turmoil, Abbey's shareprice has hardly been affected. Following todays small 0.5% rise to 80.1p, they are now at their 2012 high.

[masurenguy] 04/4/2012 17:12

Abbey Protection unveils three-pronged ABS plan for SME market

Well-known legal expenses insurer Abbey Protection is to launch a three-pronged attack on the SME market once its application to become an alternative business structure (ABS) has been approved, it
has revealed. The AIM-listed company – which provides legal and taxation related professional fees insurance products and services to SMEs – has expressed frustration at the speed with which the
Solicitors Regulation Authority is processing applications.

Publishing its 2011 accounts, Abbey announced a 5% increase in profits to £10m on the back of a
4% rise in income to £36m. The legal division produced £2.6m of the profit (up 23%) and revenues
of £10.3m. Underpinning this was renewal income from its 150 affinity scheme clients, which held
up at 98%, and a 50% increase in new business sales. Fee income from employment-related services
grew 9% to £2.4m. CEO Colin Davison said Abbey has the "financial strength" to take advantage of
the opportunities presented by ABSs, but that they were "disappointed" by the delay in licensing.
"Our application is now with the Solicitors Regulatory Authority and we are hopeful that we will be
licensed shortly," he continued. "We will then be able to execute our plans to expand the range of
legal services we offer."

Group managing director Chris Ward explained to Legal Futures that the company already employs
around 70 solicitors and barristers in its legal advice call centre, who also provide insured employment tribunal services. Becoming an ABS will allow it to scale up this resource to provide a wider range of commercial litigation services beyond those covered by insurance. The plan is for Abbey Legal Services (ALS) – which provides the legal help and currently deals with 290,000 calls a year – essentially to become another of the company's panel firms, to which legal expenses insurance policyholders might be directed. Mr Ward emphasised that ALS would just be one option and that other law firms will remain on the panel. Further, ALS would seek to offer its wider service range through some of the affinity clients, the biggest of which is the Federation of Small Businesses. The final arm of the ABS plan is an equity investment in an identified but unnamed law firm, which Mr Ward said would give ALS access to expertise in areas of practice which it does not initially want to resource in-house.

Abbey also provides after-the-event insurance, in particular the Law Society's Accident Line scheme.
The annual report said: "The profit contribution from the after-the-event division reduced slightly, notwithstanding an increase in underlying policy sales of both its Accident Line and commercial ATE products. "We have taken the decision to strengthen the provisions for the run-off of these policies with
all the uncertainty surrounding their future following the Jackson review although the full impact of this has been delayed until 2013." The accounts mixes the ATE division's income with that from Abbey's human resources consultancy and insurance run-off services. Collectively they brought in just under £2m.