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CTH Caretech Holdings Plc

750.00
0.00 (0.00%)
Last Updated: 01:00:00
Delayed by 15 minutes
Share Name Share Symbol Market Type Share ISIN Share Description
Caretech Holdings Plc LSE:CTH London Ordinary Share GB00B0KWHQ09 ORD 0.5P
  Price Change % Change Share Price Bid Price Offer Price High Price Low Price Open Price Shares Traded Last Trade
  0.00 0.00% 750.00 749.00 750.00 0.00 01:00:00
Industry Sector Turnover Profit EPS - Basic PE Ratio Market Cap
0 0 N/A 0

CareTech Holdings PLC Interim Results (8238C)

20/06/2019 7:00am

UK Regulatory


Caretech (LSE:CTH)
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TIDMCTH

RNS Number : 8238C

CareTech Holdings PLC

20 June 2019

For immediate release 20 June 2019

CareTech Holdings PLC

("CareTech" or the "the Group")

Interim Results for the six months ended 31 March 2019

CareTech Holdings PLC (AIM: CTH), a pioneering provider of specialist social care and education services for adults and children in the UK, is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2019.

Highlights

-- Completion of transformational acquisition of Cambian Group plc ("Cambian") in October 2018 for GBP278.5m (net of cash acquired)

-- Unconditional regulatory clearance for the integration of Cambian from the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA") in February 2019

   --      Integration of Cambian well underway and synergies on track to be delivered to plan 
   --      Cambian EBITDA margin considerably improved over last published results 

-- Independent property portfolio valuation of the Enlarged Group of GBP774m at the date of acquisition

   --      Banking facilities renewed until 2022/2023 
   --      Completion of ground rent transaction raising GBP31m net proceeds in January 2019 
   --      CQC and OFSTED ratings continue to be ahead of sector averages 
   --      Staff retention initiatives proving successful with retention rates ahead of sector average 

Financial Highlights

 
                                          H1 2019     H1 2018   Change 
 Group revenue                          GBP192.5m    GBP87.6m     120% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
      CareTech like-for-like revenue     GBP98.2m    GBP87.6m      12% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Underlying EBITDA(i)                    GBP33.3m    GBP19.5m      71% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
      CareTech like-for-like EBITDA      GBP20.2m    GBP19.5m       4% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Underlying profit before tax(ii)        GBP20.7m    GBP13.8m      50% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Underlying basic earnings per 
  share(ii)                                15.82p      14.86p       7% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Statutory profit before tax              GBP6.9m     GBP8.5m    (19)% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Statutory earnings per share               5.77p       8.62p    (33)% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Operating cashflow before non 
  underlying items (GBPmillion)          GBP28.2m    GBP19.1m      48% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Net debt ((iii)                        GBP293.0m   GBP147.0m      99% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Net assets                             GBP328.4m   GBP208.3m      58% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 Interim dividend                           3.75p       3.50p       7% 
                                       ----------  ----------  ------- 
 

Commenting on the results, Farouq Sheikh, Executive Chairman of CareTech, said:

"I am delighted to be reporting our first financial results following the acquisition of Cambian in October 2018. The Group's performance reflects the scale of the acquisition and delivers a substantial increase in revenue and EBITDA compared with the same period last year.

"I am pleased to report that the Group's trading performance in the year to date is in line with market expectations and we have delivered on all of our key work streams, all of which have been achieved with the backdrop of the Cambian acquisition, the subsequent CMA investigation and the sad passing of our Finance Director, Michael Hill.

"Like for like, the performance of the CareTech business in the half year was stronger when compared with the same period last year. The EBITDA margins of the CareTech business are in line with market expectations and the EBITDA margins of the Cambian business, before synergies, show considerable improvement when compared with their historic announced margins.

"The integration plan for the combined business is well underway following the unconditional clearance issued by the CMA in February 2019. The Group confirms that synergies of at least GBP3m of cost savings, in the first full year since acquisition, are on track to being delivered.

"CareTech has grown into a leading national provider of social care and education services to some of the most vulnerable people in our society. These results build on the foundations we have laid out over the last 25 years and we look forward to the future with confidence."

i. Underlying EBITDA is operating profit stated before depreciation, share based payments charge and non underlying items (which are explained in note 3).

ii. Underlying profit before tax and underlying basic earnings per share are stated before non underlying items (explained in note 3).

iii. Net debt comprises Cash and cash equivalents net of bank loans and borrowings and finance leases.

For further information, please contact:

 
CareTech Holdings PLC 
 Farouq Sheikh, Executive Chairman 
 Gareth Dufton, Interim Group Finance 
 Director                               01707 601800 
Buchanan (PR Adviser) 
 Mark Court 
 Sophie Wills 
 Tilly Abraham                          020 7466 5000 
Panmure Gordon (Nomad and Joint 
 Broker) 
 Emma Earl 
 Freddy Crossley 
 Charles Leigh-Pemberton                020 7886 2500 
WH Ireland (Joint Broker) 
 Adrian Hadden 
 Jessica Cave 
 Matthew Chan                           020 7220 1666 
 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014.

About CareTech

CareTech Holdings plc is a leading provider of specialist social care and education services, supporting around 4,500 adults and children with a wide range of complex needs in more than 550 residential facilities and specialist schools around the UK and employing approximately 10,000 staff.

Committed to the highest standards of care and care governance, CareTech provides its innovative care pathways covering; Adult learning disabilities and specialist services; Children's residential and education services; and foster care.

CareTech, which was founded in 1993, began trading on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange in October 2005 under the ticker symbol CTH.

For further information please visit: www.caretech-uk.com

Chairman's Statement

A transformational six months

The six month period to 31 March 2019 has been transformational for CareTech following the acquisition of Cambian in October 2018. In the year that we are celebrating our 25(th) Anniversary in care, the Group has become a leading national social care provider to young people and adults and is now the largest provider of care and education services to children in the UK. The acquisition of Cambian was immediately followed by the CMA placing a hold separate embargo over the combined business for which the Group received unconditional clearance in mid-February 2019. As part of the acquisition, the Group renewed its banking facilities until 2022 and 2023 and in January completed a ground rent transaction raising GBP31m net proceeds. CareTech's organic developments have continued with the addition of 39 new beds in the half year whilst reconfigurations and supported living contracts coming to an end have resulted in a net increase of 6 places for CareTech. The integration of the Cambian business is now well underway and synergies identified as planned.

The Group's innovative Care Pathways, which now include those specialist children's education and therapeutic foster care services delivered by Cambian, deliver positive outcomes for individuals in the Group's care, which together with the cash flows available put the Group in a strong position to continue growing market share.

The financial results for this period show significant increases in Revenue and EBITDA reflecting the Cambian acquisition. This report includes presentational changes first outlined in the trading update issued on 1 May 2019 to reflect the on-going integration of the two businesses, most notably, in the reporting of operational information which is presented as the following three outcome-based operating divisions: Adult Services, Children's Services and Foster Care.

Like for like, CareTech's underlying performance reflects the strategic initiatives undertaken over recent years and has delivered a stronger performance compared with the same period last year. Furthermore, Cambian's results deliver increased Revenue, underlying EBITDA and EBITDA margins when compared to the same period last year.

Cambian shares CareTech's commitment to delivering the highest standards of care and the strategy of working with care commissioners to deliver innovative services. Together, the enlarged Group benefits from favourable demographics underpinned by the growth in outsourcing to the private sector and from the increasingly stringent regulatory environment, which is driving consolidation in a fragmented market.

Looking forward, the Group will continue with the integration plan and delivering the synergies as set out at the time of acquisition. Continued growth is underpinned by the strong foundation built over the past few years and the Group continues to develop and grow all the three operating divisions with particular focus on higher acuity service provision. The Group will continue to extend both the geographic coverage and the range of outcome based Care Pathway services organically and through bolt-on acquisitions and the purchase of properties to meet the needs of the marketplace, specifically the requirement for greater acuity service provision.

This ensures that CareTech is in a very strong position to address the demands of the evolving marketplace and the Board remains confident of the Group's performance for the remainder of the year.

Acquisition, share issue and bank facilities

On 19 October 2018, CareTech Holdings plc acquired the entire share capital of Cambian, a leading children's specialist education and behavioural health service provider. Cambian's services have a specific focus on children who present high severity needs with challenging behaviours and complex care requirements. Cambian currently looks after over 2,000 children and employs over 4,500 people across a portfolio of 222 residential facilities, specialist schools and fostering offices located in England and Wales.

The headline consideration for the acquisition was GBP360m (of which GBP241.7m was paid in cash), with the net price paid being GBP278.5m reflecting GBP81.5m of net cash held by Cambian on the date of acquisition. The acquisition was funded by the issue of 33.2m shares and new bank facilities. A bridge facility was in place to fund the acquisition and was subsequently repaid in full. A provisional acquisition table is included in note 7 to the accounts below.

New banking facilities include term loans of GBP322m and an undrawn revolving credit facility of GBP25m. In April 2019, the Group entered into a number of interest rate swaps as part of a hedging strategy.

Results

Included in the Group consolidated results for the six months ended 31 March 2019 are Cambian's Revenue, EBITDA and other income statement items together with cash flows for the period following completion on 19 October 2018.

Group Revenue in the half year has increased by 119.8% when compared with the same period last year. The split of Revenue is GBP98.3m for CareTech and GBP94.2m for Cambian. Like-for-like CareTech's Revenue in the period increased by 12.2% from GBP87.6m

Group underlying EBITDA(i) of GBP33.3m (2018: GBP19.5m), represents growth of 70.8% when compared with the same period last year. The split of EBITDA is GBP20.2m for CareTech and GBP13.1m for Cambian.

The underlying EBITDA(i) margin was 17.3% (2018: 22.3%). This reflects the acquisition of Cambian whose margins are historically lower than the CareTech EBITDA margins. Like-for-like, CareTech EBITDA grew by 4% to GBP20.2m with overall EBITDA margins at 20.6% (H1 2018: 22.3%) the change reflecting the mix of the business and the timing of a number of reconfigurations in the first half of the year.

Cambian's EBITDA margin, before synergies, was 13.2% which reflects a considerable increase on the 10.9% margin for the same period in 2018.

Underlying profit before tax(ii) increased by 50% to GBP20.7m (2018: GBP13.8m) and underlying basic earnings per share(ii) was 15.82p (2018: 14.86p), representing an improved return to shareholders following the Cambian acquisition.

During this period, the Group also maintained focus on taking the operational platform forward to the next stage of development in what is a growing and changing market. The Group has invested GBP14.2m in the period (2018: GBP5.5m) in the property estate in order to provide the appropriate quality and resource to drive medium term organic growth. Property Estate expenditure includes a specialist children's residential service in Herefordshire, a service in Lancashire and the refurbishment of a mental health hospital in Hampshire. Also included in this capital investment is GBP6.0m paid by Cambian to acquire freehold properties for previously leasehold operations that were either committed to prior to the acquisition of Cambian or were required to be able to continue to trade from these locations and created no new capacity in the period.

Care Commissioners continue to demand flexible high-quality care solutions and favour operators able to deliver across the care pathway. The 2018 reconfigured services that have opened are already experiencing strong levels of demand from local authorities for referrals, validating the strategy of reconfiguration focusing upon greater acuity service provision.

A key feature of this business is its strong cash generation. For the period 1 October 2018 to 31 March 2019 Cambian has a 100% EBITDA to cash conversion (iii) and CareTech has a 97% conversion. Cambian was acquired mid-October and in the pre-acquisition period (from 1 October to 18 October 2018) there were particularly strong cash receipts. The mid-month acquisition resulted in the Group being unable to count these receipts in the conversion calculation, whilst the payrolls (which typically go out at the end of the month) are all counted in the consolidated Group cash flows. Taking this into account, the EBITDA to operating cash conversion for the consolidated Group is 85%.

Other key cash flows in this period include payment of integration costs of GBP2.4m, payment of acquisition costs of GBP13.9m, payment of the interim dividend of GBP2.6m and corporation tax payments of GBP2.8m. As a result of this, and the proceeds from the ground rent transaction, net debt was GBP293.0m as at 31 March 2019.

Net assets have increased by GBP120.2m to GBP328.4m as at 31 March 2019 due to the acquisition of Cambian and compared with March 2018 this is an increase of 58%.

In the trading update issued on 1 May 2019, CareTech announced that annual fee rate negotiations with local authorities have begun and the Group anticipate a favourable response when compared with previous years. The National Living Wage increased from 1 April 2019, as did increases to both employer and employee pension contributions which, in addition to having a positive impact on staff pay, the Group believes will also have a positive impact on discussions with local authorities, who recognise that front line staff are an integral part of quality care delivery. Accordingly, the Group expects fee increases to cover the additional costs resulting from increases in front line staff pay and pension contributions.

Service user capacity and occupancy

Capacity as at 31 March 2019 was 5,072 places with CareTech having 2,628 places and Cambian, 2,444 places. Since September 2018, CareTech's organic developments have continued with the addition of 39 new beds whilst reconfigurations reduced capacity by 13 beds. A further 20 supported living contracts came to an end, resulting in a net increase of 6 places for CareTech. The reconfigured beds, together with the 6 additional places and the additional capacity which came online towards the end of the 2018 financial year end underpins growth in revenues going forwards. Blended and mature occupancy of 87% and 93% compares favourably to the last trading update (30 September 2018: 86% and 93% respectively). There has been no net change in the number of places at Cambian from the date of acquisition by the Group.

Ground rent transaction

In January 2019, the Group announced that it had completed a ground rent transaction with funds managed by Alpha Real Capital LLP ("Alpha") at a net initial yield of 2.85%. This transaction builds on the previous transaction with Alpha in February 2016.

Under the terms of the agreement, the freehold interest in 24 CareTech properties ("the Properties") were transferred to Alpha in exchange for a net cash sum of GBP31.0m and security of tenure with a 150-year lease term returning to CareTech a virtual freehold interest in each property. The commencing rent will be GBP1.0m per annum, which will rise with the Retail Price Index on a yearly basis between 0% and 5% per annum. The Properties are located across England and Scotland, representing less than 8% of the aggregate number of freehold properties owned by the Group.

Cambian Integration and synergies

Following the unconditional clearance of the acquisition from the CMA in February 2019, the integration of the two businesses commenced. Significant headway has been made into this at the date of this report as the integration of the Senior Management team has commenced, a plan is in place around the integration of a number of the back-office support functions and an IT strategy is in place. The Board is confident that the integration of the two businesses can be achieved without undue disruption to the underlying operations of each business.

From 30 June 2019, CareTech's COO, John Ivers, who has been with the business for four years, is taking the operational lead across the Group, becoming Group COO. This will drive a cohesive approach to the adoption of a Group wide business model, which will deliver the best possible outcomes for the people in the Group's care. We also announce that Anne Marie Carrie, Cambian Group COO, has taken the decision to retire from Cambian.

It was identified in the prospectus dated 19 September 2018 that the Group expected to realise synergies of GBP3m of cost savings at profit before tax in the first full year following the acquisition of Cambian. This is expected to be followed by GBP5m in the second full year and GBP6m by the third full year following acquisition.

The Group reports that it is on track to deliver the first full year synergies as set out in the prospectus and has visibility on the second full year savings. Initiatives that have already been implemented include, inter alia;

   --      The former CEO, CFO and all non-Executive Board members of Cambian have left the Group; 
   --      A number of senior management savings have been delivered; 
   --      A number of back-office functions have already been integrated and costs saving identified; 
   --      A number of ongoing IT costs have been streamlined and a new IT strategy put in place; 

-- The Group have exercised a break clause on the lease of the Cambian head office in Hammersmith; and

   --      A number of non-staff synergy savings have been made. 

In the half year, the acquisition of Cambian has given the Group a broader geographic and acuity service offering which it shall seek to capitalise on over the coming years. Whilst the Group will focus on the integration of Cambian, delivering the synergies targets and improving its margins, the Group has continued, and will continue, to review its offering and increase capacity offering new and innovative services. The improvement in Cambian's EBITDA margins will be achieved through increased staff retention and improved quality ratings which lead to increased occupancy levels which in turn lead to increased EBITDA margins. The increase in the EBITDA margin in the period to 13.2% (June 2018: 10.9%) before synergies demonstrates that Cambian are on track to deliver the medium term EBITDA margin target.

Operating review

Following the acquisition of Cambian, it was announced that the Group will change the reported operating segments to more accurately reflect the Group's management and internal reporting structure, a review of each operational division is set out below:

(1) Adult Services

Adult Services comprises the core CareTech Adult Learning Disabilities business (ALD) as well as the much smaller Specialist Services business (SS) and Learning Services business.

The Adult Services capacity is 1,971 with revenue growing by 6.7% to GBP62.1m (2018: GBP55.2m) and EBITDA remained at GBP15m, whilst EBITDA margins changed from 26% to 24%. This change reflects the change in mix of the business as the number of supported living beds grew and the timing of a number of reconfigurations which will come on stream in the second half of the year.

Across the Group the focus on quality continues with CQC quality ratings at 94% Good or Outstanding in Adult Services, which compares favourably to the national average of 82% and against our last update report.

The Group offers a flexible, person-centred approach with support offered on an individual planned basis both within a registered residential setting and in step-down supported housing. Demand remains high across the spectrum for the support of people with learning disabilities and the Group recognises an increasing complexity of need for referrals to specialist services within the Group. CareTech's Adult Services care pathway includes residential care homes, independent supported living, community outreach, the Northamptonshire based Oakleaf with its care and rehabilitation for acquired brain injury and a newly developed wing of a specialist mental health facility in Fareham.

(2) Children's Services

Children's Services comprises CareTech's and Cambian's children's residential and education services.

Children's services capacity is 1,934 split between CareTech (356 places) and Cambian (1,578 places). Revenues for the division were GBP110.8m analysed as Caretech GBP32.1m and Cambian GBP78.7m.

EBITDA for this division was GBP26.5m analysed as CareTech GBP8.4m and Cambian GBP18.1m.

Like-for-like, CareTech's revenues increased by 27.4% and EBITDA by 20.4% reflecting the increased capacity from the cap-ex invested in the 2018 financial year. EBITDA increased from GBP7.0m to GBP8.4m whilst EBITDA margins decreased by 1% to 26%.

The Group's Children's Services provides care, support and education to young people with complex behavioural problems, physical impairments, learning disabilities and emotional behavioural disorders ('EBD'). The Group operates services that cater for local needs but also manage certain highly specialised services that have a national catchment. The Cambian acquisition has increased the geographic spread of children's services across the UK as well as increasing the types of services being offered including complex needs, Social, Emotional and Mental Health ("SEMH") and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services ("CAMHS").

The OFSTED ratings for the CareTech services are 89% Good or Outstanding and 77% for the Cambian services resulting in a blended 78% Good and Outstanding ratings for children's services across the Group.

(3) Foster Care

Foster Care comprises CareTech's and Cambian's fostering services.

Foster Care capacity is 1,167 split between CareTech (301 places) and Cambian (866 places). Revenues for the division were GBP19.6m analysed as Caretech GBP4.1m and Cambian GBP15.5m.

EBITDA for this division was GBP3.7m analysed as CareTech GBP0.8m and Cambian GBP2.9m.

Like-for-like, CareTech's revenues were maintained and EBITDA fell by GBP0.1m to GBP0.8m reflecting a small increase in the cost base. For CareTech, Foster Care was less than 5% of its overall business.

Cambian's Foster Care business is branded "By-the-Bridge" and offers a more specialist therapeutic service. With a combined capacity of 1,167 places, the Group has established one of the largest independent fostering agencies in England and Wales. There is a significantly increased demand for foster care for children who might otherwise have entered the residential care system. Foster care represents much better value for commissioners but the complexity of children being referred will often make the matching process quite complex, favouring larger agencies like CareTech and By-the-Bridge with a greater range of well supported foster carers.

Our People

On 1 May 2019, The Board announced the appointment of Professor Moira Livingston as a Non-Executive Director. Moira has many years of experience in health and social care, latterly as a senior clinical leader and manager in the NHS, and will Chair the Group's Care Governance and Safeguarding Committee.

It was also announced that Mike Adams OBE, has become an Executive Director in order to pursue a strategic role within the Group and to push forward the Purple business model.

The Group continues to seek the appointment of an additional Non-Executive Director and a further announcement will be made in due course.

In terms of staff retention, the Group's annualised retention rate sits at 74% (which is analysed as 77% for CareTech employees and 71% for Cambian employees) and when compared with the industry average of under 70% remains favourable.

As an employer, CareTech is a registered apprenticeship training provider in its own right and the Board is convinced of the benefits that the in-house apprenticeship programme has had for both staff and for service users. The apprenticeship levy is an opportunity to continue to deliver excellence in the care sector and is a tangible example of the Group's commitment to the development of its 10,000 staff. The Group's internal training department, through the Aspire Programme delivered over 60,000 learning interventions last year of which 26,000 were classroom based. This commitment to training and development leads to staff being trained to deliver the highest quality care for the individuals supported by the Group.

The Group has a number of SAYE schemes in place as well as share schemes for its senior executives and operational staff. Several hundred colleagues took advantage of the 2016 SAYE scheme at a share price of 194p and will see real value now that the scheme has matured.

Focus remains on attracting and retaining the best talent in the sector; the Group continuously focuses on employee engagement and will again this year look to offer the SAYE scheme to all staff as well as share options plans for Executives and management teams.

Social Responsibility

The CareTech Charitable Foundation was created in 2017 and in early 2018 launched three partnerships with matched funding relevant to the care sector with Barnados, British Asian Trust and Skills for Care.

CareTech is delighted to have officially supported Special Olympics Great Britain (Team SOGB) at the March 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games, held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), with over 190 countries participating in a truly spectacular and successful global event. CareTech's involvement with Team SOGB and the World Games arose from the close pathway affinity between our national expertise in supporting people with learning disabilities through our living, learning and employment support services and the Special Olympics movement using sport to build confidence, skill and determination for athletes with intellectual and learning disabilities as a gateway to empowerment, competence, acceptance and joy. The Games were a real highlight on the 2019 world sporting humanitarian calendar and Team SOGB excelled against the competition winning an outstanding tally of 61 Gold, 57 Silver and 46 Bronze Medals.

Dividend

Our policy continues to be to increase the dividend broadly in line with the movement in underlying diluted earnings per share. Given the consistent earnings growth and cash generation the Board is therefore declaring an interim dividend of 3.75p (2018: 3.50p) per share, to be paid on 21 November 2019 to shareholders on the Register of Members on 24 October 2019 with an associated record date of 25 October 2019. The full year dividend will be reviewed at the year end. The Ordinary shares of CareTech will be marked ex-dividend on 24 October 2019.

Outlook and prospects

The continued provision of first-class social care which represents good value and is focused on successful client outcomes will remain the main market driver for the Group's continuing growth. The Group will continue to work in partnership with Local Authorities to deliver innovative services focused on delivering positive outcomes for individuals.

With a strengthened management team, having undertaken a major acquisition and with improved Bank facilities in place together with cash from the ground rent transaction, the Group is well placed to take advantage of opportunities for further consolidation in the sector and for organic growth.

Farouq Sheikh

Chairman

20 June 2019

(i) Underlying EBITDA is operating profit before depreciation, share-based payments charge and non underlying items (explained in note 3);

(ii) Underlying profit before tax and underlying diluted earnings per share are stated before non underlying items (explained in note 3).

(iii) EBITDA to cash conversion is calculated as operating cash flows before non underlying items divided by underlying EBITDA

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

for the six months ended 31 March 2019

 
                                                                                                     Six months ended         Six months ended            Year ended 
                                                                                                      31 March 2019            31 March 2018          30 September 2018 
                                                                                                        unaudited                unaudited                 audited 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------------------  -----------------------  ----------------------- 
                                                                                                  Before non               Before non               Before non 
                                                                                                  underlying       Total   underlying       Total   underlying       Total 
                                                                                                    items(i)   Unaudited     items(i)   unaudited     items(i)     audited 
                                                                                           Note       GBP000      GBP000       GBP000      GBP000       GBP000      GBP000 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Revenue                                                                                      2      192,510     192,510       87,569      87,569      185,689     185,689 
 Cost of sales                                                                                     (131,684)   (131,684)     (56,906)    (56,906)    (120,387)   (120,387) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Gross profit                                                                                         60,826      60,826       30,663      30,663       65,302      65,302 
 
 Administrative expenses                                                                            (33,494)    (46,913)     (14,387)    (19,783)     (27,543)    (45,116) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Operating profit                                                                                     27,332      13,913       16,276      10,880       37,759      20,186 
 
 EBITDA                                                                                       3       33,349      33,349       19,502      19,502       43,862      43,862 
 Depreciation                                                                                        (5,957)     (5,957)      (3,166)     (3,166)      (5,906)     (5,906) 
 Share-based payments charge                                                                            (60)        (60)         (60)        (60)        (197)       (197) 
 Non underlying items                                                                         3            -    (13,419)            -     (5,396)            -    (17,573) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Operating profit                                                                                     27,332      13,913       16,276      10,880       37,759      20,186 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 
 Financial expenses                                                                           4      (6,626)     (7,067)      (2,435)     (2,420)      (4,867)     (4,816) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Profit before tax (ii)                                                                               20,706       6,846       13,841       8,460       32,892      15,370 
 Taxation                                                                                     5      (3,922)       (660)      (2,597)     (1,932)      (5,751)     (4,126) 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Profit for the period                                                                                16,784       6,186       11,244       6,528       27,141      11,244 
  Non-controlling interest                                                                             (108)       (108)            -           -        (596)       (596) 
  Comprehensive income for the period attributable to equity shareholders of the parent               16,676       6,078       11,244       6,528       26,545      10,648 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  -----  -----------  ----------  -----------  ----------  -----------  ---------- 
 Earnings per Share 
 Basic (ii)                                                                                   6       15.82p       5.77p       14.86p       8.62p       35.07p      14.07p 
 Diluted (ii)                                                                                 6       15.73p       5.73p       14.85p       8.62p       35.06p      14.06p 
 

(i) Underlying EBITDA is operating profit before depreciation, share-based payments charge and non underlying items (explained in note 3).

(ii) Underlying profit before tax and underlying diluted earnings per share are stated before non underlying items (explained in note 3).

Condensed Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity at 31 March 2019

 
                                                          Six months ended   Six months ended          Year ended 
                                                             31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                                 unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                    GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
-------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Balance at start of period                                        208,233            204,201             204,201 
 Total comprehensive income                                          6,078              6,528              10,648 
 Transactions with owners recorded directly in equity: 
 Issue of ordinary shares                                          116,679                 43                  42 
 Equity settled share-based payments charge                             60                 60                 197 
 Dividends                                                         (2,645)            (2,499)             (7,494) 
 Minority interest                                                       -                  -                 639 
-------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Balance at end of period                                          328,405            208,333             208,233 
-------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 March 2019

 
                                                                   31 March 2019    31 March   30 September 
                                                                                        2018           2018 
                                                                       unaudited   unaudited        audited 
                                                                          GBP000      GBP000         GBP000 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Non-current assets 
 Property, plant and equipment                                           600,526     300,410        301,109 
 Other intangible assets                                                  84,147      40,299         40,128 
 Goodwill                                                                 79,178      43,098         43,689 
                                                                         763,851     383,807        384,926 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Current assets 
 Inventories                                                                 998         835            898 
 Trade and other receivables                                              55,382      22,609         31,747 
 Cash and cash equivalents                                                26,733      10,461          9,421 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
                                                                          83,113      33,905         42,066 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Total assets                                                            846,964     417,712        426,992 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
  Current liabilities 
 Loans and borrowings                                                      2,379      13,593        153,830 
 Trade and other payables                                                 53,763      12,718         24,875 
  Deferred and contingent consideration payable                                -       1,652            966 
 Ground rent liabilities arising under IAS17                                 100          50             50 
 Deferred income                                                          37,666       3,213          3,372 
 Corporation Tax                                                          13,114       7,924          6,836 
 Derivative financial instruments                                              -         407            152 
                                                                         107,022      39,557        190,081 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Non-current liabilities 
 Loans and borrowings                                                    317,414     143,840          2,580 
 Provisions                                                               14,936           -              - 
 Deferred and contingent consideration payable                                 -       1,133              - 
 Ground rent liabilities arising under IAS17                              15,057       7,268          7,244 
 Deferred tax liabilities                                                 64,130      17,516         18,854 
  Derivative financial instruments                                             -          65              - 
                                                                         411,537     169,822         28,678 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Total liabilities                                                       518,559     209,379        218,759 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Net assets                                                              328,405     208,333        208,233 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
  Equity attributable to equity shareholders of the parent 
 Share capital                                                               545         379            379 
 Share premium                                                           120,820     120,821        120,820 
 Shares held by Employee Benefit Trust                                   (4,750)     (4,750)        (4,750) 
 Merger reserve                                                          125,535       9,023          9,023 
 Non-controlling interest                                                    769           -            639 
 Retained earnings                                                        85,486      82,860         82,122 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 Total equity attributable to equity shareholders of the parent          328,405     208,333        208,233 
----------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  ----------  ------------- 
 

Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the six months ended 31 March 2019

 
                                                       Six months ended   Six months ended          Year ended 
                                                          31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                              unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                 GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Cash flows from operating activities 
 Profit before tax                                                6,846              8,460              15,370 
 Financial expenses                                               7,067              2,420               4,816 
 Termination of onerous contracts                                     -                727                 377 
 Depreciation                                                     5,957              3,166               5,906 
 Amortisation of intangible assets                                4,922              3,558               7,428 
 Charitable foundation donation                                     390                  -                 380 
 Share-based payments charge                                         60                 60                 197 
 Acquisition transaction costs                                   10,318                  -               2,967 
 Integration and restructuring costs                              2,354              1,111               2,863 
 Impairment of goodwill                                               -                  -               2,000 
 Profit arising from ground rent transactions                   (4,565)                  -                   - 
 Adjustments relating to prior acquisitions                           -                  -               1,558 
 Operating cash flows before movement in working                 33,349             19,502              43,862 
 capital and non underlying items 
 (Increase) in Inventory                                          (100)                  -                (63) 
 (Increase)/decrease in trade and other receivables             (3,226)                910             (8,228) 
 (Decrease)/increase in trade and other payables                (1,812)            (1,317)               3,875 
 Operating cash flows before non underlying items                28,211             19,095              39,446 
  Integration and restructuring costs                           (2,354)            (1,111)             (3,652) 
  Payment of charitable donations                                 (390)                  -               (380) 
  Payments under onerous contracts                                    -              (727)               (377) 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
  Cash inflows from operating activities                         25,467             17,257              35,037 
  Tax paid                                                      (2,818)            (1,426)             (4,135) 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Net cash from operating activities                              22,649             15,831              30,902 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 
 
 Cash flows from investing activities 
 Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment                   31,026          -      1,201 
 Business combinations net of cash acquired (Note 7)                (160,271)      (939)       (72) 
 Acquisition of property, plant and equipment                        (14,866)    (5,536)   (14,519) 
  Acquisition of software                                               (858)    (2,901)    (2,538) 
 Payment of deferred consideration                                      (966)          -          - 
 Payment of acquisition costs                                        (13,902)          -      (839) 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Net cash used in investing activities                              (159,837)    (9,376)   (16,767) 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Cash flows from financing activities 
 Proceeds arising from the issue of share capital (net of costs)            -         43         42 
 Interest paid                                                        (4,773)    (2,397)    (4,650) 
 Cash outflow arising from derivative financial instruments             (594)      (340)      (649) 
 Bank loans drawdown                                                  431,910      3,883     11,035 
 Loan arrangement fees                                                (4,696)          -    (1,436) 
 Repayment of borrowings                                            (263,576)          -    (5,775) 
 Payment of finance lease liabilities                                 (1,126)    (1,086)    (2,189) 
 Dividends paid                                                       (2,645)    (2,499)    (7,494) 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Net cash generated from financing activities                         154,500    (2,396)   (11,116) 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Net change in cash and cash equivalents                               17,312      4,059      3,019 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents at start of the period                       9,421      6,402      6,402 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period                        26,733     10,461      9,421 
-----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------  ---------  --------- 
 

Net debt as defined by the Group's banking facilities comprises:

 
                                  31 March 2019   31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                      unaudited       unaudited             audited 
                                         GBP000          GBP000              GBP000 
-------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------------ 
 Cash and cash equivalents               26,733          10,462               9,421 
 Loans and borrowings                 (319,793)       (157,433)           (156,410) 
 Net debt at end of the period        (293,060)       (146,971)           (146,989) 
-------------------------------  --------------  --------------  ------------------ 
 

Notes

   1.   Accounting policies 

This interim report has been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies expected to be adopted for the year ending 30 September 2019. These are anticipated to be in accordance with the Group's accounting policies as set out in the latest annual financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2018 together with the adoption of IFRS 9 and IFRS 15.

All International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS"), International Accounting Standards ("IAS"') and interpretations currently endorsed by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and its committees as adopted by the EU and as required to be adopted by AIM-listed companies have been applied. AIM-listed companies are not required to comply with IAS 34 'Interim Financial Reporting' and accordingly the Company has taken advantage of this exemption.

In the current year, the following new and revised standards and interpretations have been adopted:

 
 IFRS 9                             Financial Instruments 
 IFRS 15                            Revenue from Contracts with 
                                     Customers 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 Clarifications to IFRS 15 (Apr     Clarifications to IFRS 15 Revenue 
  2016)                              from Contracts with Customers 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 IFRIC 22                           Foreign Currency Transactions 
                                     and Advance Consideration 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 Amendments to IFRS 2 (Jun 2016)    Classification and Measurement 
                                     of Share-based Payment Transactions 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 Amendments to IFRS 4 (Sept 2016)   Applying IFRS 9 Financial Instruments 
                                     with IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 Amendments to IAS 40 (Dec 2016)    Transfers of Investment Property 
                                   -------------------------------------- 
 

The amendments listed above which were adopted did not affect the amounts reported in these interim financial statements.

The financial information in this interim report does not constitute statutory accounts for the six months ended 31 March 2019 and should be read in conjunction with the Group's annual financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2018. Financial information for the year ended 30 September 2018 has been derived from the consolidated audited accounts for that period which were unqualified.

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the six months to 31 March 2019 have not been audited or reviewed by auditors pursuant to the Auditing Practices Board guidance on Review of Interim Financial Information.

This unaudited interim report was approved by the Board on 19 June 2019.

   2.   Segmental information 

IFRS 8 requires operating segments to be determined based on the Group's internal reporting to the Chief Operating Decision Maker ("CODM"). The CODM has been determined to be the Chief Executive Officer as he is primarily responsible for the allocation of resources to segments and the assessment of the performance of each of the segments.

The CODM uses underlying EBITDA as reviewed at monthly Executive Committee meetings as the key measure of the segments' results as it reflects the segments' underlying trading performance for the period under evaluation. Underlying EBITDA is a consistent measure within the Group.

Inter-segment turnover between the operating segments is not material.

The interim results report segmental information on the Group's three operating divisions (and the comparative information has been represented on this basis):

-- Adults Services, comprising the core CareTech Adult Learning Disabilities business (ALD) as well as the much smaller Specialist Services business (SS) and Learning Services;

   --      Children's Services, comprising CareTech's and Cambian's children's services; and 
   --      Foster Care, comprising CareTech's and Cambian's fostering services. 

For the current financial year ending 30 September 2019, the Group will also provide the segmental data for the historic CareTech and Cambian businesses to enable a like for like analysis in the first year following the acquisition. For subsequent financial years, the results of the Group will be combined on the basis of the operating segments described above.

The segmental results for the six months ended 31 March 2019 (noting that the results of Cambian are for the period from 19 October 2018), six months ended 31 March 2018 and year ended 30 September 2018 and the reconciliation of the segment measures to the respective statutory items included in the consolidated financial information are as follows:

 
                            6 months to 31 March          6 months to 31 March       12 months to 30 September 
                                            2019                          2018                            2018 
                             unaudited                      unaudited                       audited 
                    CareTech   Cambian     Total   CareTech   Cambian    Total    CareTech   Cambian     Total 
-----------------  ---------  --------  --------  ---------  --------  -------  ----------  --------  -------- 
 Adults 
 Client capacity       1,971         -     1,971      1,946         -    1,946       1,968         -     1,968 
 Revenue              62,123         -    62,123     58,249         -   58,249     118,736         -   118,736 
 EBITDA               14,971         -    14,971     15,356         -   15,356      31,885         -    31,885 
-----------------  ---------  --------  --------  ---------  --------  -------  ----------  --------  -------- 
 
 Childrens 
 Client capacity         356     1,578     1,934        325         -      325         353         -       353 
 Revenue              32,100    78,704   110,804     25,196         -   25,196      58,707         -    58,707 
 EBITDA                8,378    18,102    26,480      6,961         -    6,961      17,024         -    17,024 
-----------------  ---------  --------  --------  ---------  --------  -------  ----------  --------  -------- 
 
 Foster Care 
 Client capacity         301       866     1,167        301         -      301         301         -       301 
 Revenue               4,049    15,534    19,583      4,124         -    4,124       8,246         -     8,246 
 EBITDA                  792     2,830     3,622        997         -      997       1,898         -     1,898 
-----------------  ---------  --------  --------  ---------  --------  -------  ----------  --------  -------- 
 
 Total                 2,628     2,444     5,072      2,572         -    2,572       2,622         -     2,622 
 Revenue              98,272    94,238   192,510     87,569         -   87,569     185,689         -   185,689 
 EBITDA               24,141    20,932    45,073     23,314         -   23,314      50,807         -    50,807 
-----------------  ---------  --------  --------  ---------  --------  -------  ----------  --------  -------- 
 

Reconciliation of EBITDA to profit after tax;

 
                                       Six months ended   Six months ended          Year ended 
                                          31 March 2019 
                                              unaudited 
                                                 GBP000 
------------------------------------------------------- 
                                                             31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
--------------------------------------------  --------- 
                                                                 unaudited             audited 
                                                                    GBP000              GBP000 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Underlying EBITDA before unallocated costs      45,073             23,314              50,807 
 Unallocated costs                             (11,724)            (3,812)             (6,945) 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Underlying EBITDA                               33,349             19,502              43,862 
 Depreciation                                   (5,957)            (3,166)             (5,906) 
 Share-based payments charge                       (60)               (60)               (197) 
 Non underlying items                          (13,419)            (5,396)            (17,573) 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Operating profit                                13,913             10,880              20,186 
 Financial expenses                             (7,067)            (2,420)             (4,816) 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Profit before tax                                6,846              8,460              15,370 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Taxation                                         (660)            (1,932)             (4,126) 
 Non-controlling interest                         (108)                  -               (596) 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Profit after tax                                 6,078              6,528              10,648 
--------------------------------------------  ---------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 

All operations of the Group are carried out in the UK, the Company's country of domicile. All revenues therefore arise within the UK and all non-current assets are likewise located in the UK. No single external customer amounts to 10% or more of the Group's revenues.

No asset and liability information is presented above as this information is not allocated to operating segments in the regular reporting to the group's Chief Operating Decision Maker and are not measures used by the CODM to assess performance and to make resource allocation decisions.

   3.   Non underlying items 

Non underlying items are those items of financial performance which, in the opinion of the Directors, should be disclosed separately in order to improve the readers understanding of the trading performance of the Group. Non underlying items comprise the following:

 
                                                                        Six months        Six months              Year 
                                                                             ended             ended             ended 
                                                                     31 March 2019     31 March 2018      30 September 
                                                                                                                  2018 
                                                                         unaudited         unaudited           audited 
                                                            Note            GBP000            GBP000            GBP000 
------------------------------------------------------  --------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Acquisition expenses                                        (i)            10,318                 -             4,525 
 Integration and restructuring costs                        (ii)             2,354             1,111             2,863 
 Profit arising from the ground rent transaction           (iii)           (4,565)                 -                 - 
 Charitable donations                                       (iv)               390                 -               380 
 Termination of onerous leases                                                   -               727               377 
 Impairment of goodwill                                                          -                 -             2,000 
 Amortisation of intangible assets                                           4,922             3,558             7,428 
 Included in administrative expenses                                        13,419             5,396            17,573 
----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Fair value movements relating to derivative financial 
  instruments                                                (v)             (153)             (468)             (787) 
 Charges relating to derivative financial instruments        (v)                86               341               513 
  IAS 17 lease imputed interest                                                112               112               223 
 Finance fees extinguished                                  (vi)               396                 -                 - 
------------------------------------------------------  --------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Included in financial expenses                                                441              (15)              (51) 
----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Tax on non underlying items 
  Tax effect: 
 Current tax                                               (vii)               101             (349)           (1,004) 
 Deferred tax                                             (viii)           (3,363)             (316)             (621) 
------------------------------------------------------  --------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Included in taxation                                                      (3,262)             (665)           (1,625) 
----------------------------------------------------------------  ----------------  ----------------  ---------------- 
 Total non underlying items                                                 10,598             4,716            15,897 
================================================================  ================  ================  ================ 
 

(i) In accordance with IFRS 3 (as revised) items associated with business combinations have been taken to the income statement as incurred and includes costs relating to the review by the Competition and Markets Authority ("CMA").

(ii) The Group incurred a number of costs relating to the integration of the Cambian acquisition and reorganisation of the internal operating, finance and management structures.

(iii) Profit arises from a ground rent transaction with Alpha Real Capital LLP at a net yield of 2.85% and which raised GBP31.0m in cash to further support its growth strategy.

(iv) These charges represent charitable donations made to the Caretech Charitable Foundation, an independent grant- making corporate foundation registered with the Charity Commission. Funded and founded by Caretech Holding plc, the Foundation has an independent Board of trustees responsible for delivering its Charitable Objects. The Trustees include Haroon and Farouq Sheikh, Directors of the Group.

(v) Non underlying items relating to the derivative financial instruments include the movements during the year in the fair value of the Group's interest rate swaps which are not designated as hedging instruments and therefore do not qualify for hedge accounting, together with the quarterly cash settlements and accrual thereof.

(vi) Finance fees extinguished relate to finance fees paid on bank facilities which were replaced as part of the Cambian acquisition.

(vii) Represents the current tax on items (ii) and (iv) above.

   (viii)      Deferred tax arises in respect of the following: 
 
                                                       Six months ended   Six months ended                Year 
                                                                                                         Ended 
                                                          31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                              unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                 GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
----------------------------------------------  ----  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Derivative financial instruments (note iv)                        (59)               (80)               (134) 
 Full provision for deferred tax under IAS 12                       402                  -                 846 
 Roll over relief                                                 (776)                  -                   - 
 Intangible assets                                                1,134                  -               (124) 
 Other adjustments                                                    -                396                 (6) 
  Prior year adjustments                                          2,662                  -                  39 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Total                                                            3,363                316                 621 
----------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 
 
 4. Financial expenses                                               Six months   Six months ended                Year 
                                                                          ended                                  ended 
                                                                  31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                                      unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                         GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
---------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 On bank loans and overdrafts                                             6,498              2,299               4,527 
 Finance charges in respect of finance leases                               128                136                 340 
---------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Financial expenses before non underlying items                           6,626              2,435               4,867 
 Amounts relating to derivative financial instruments (note 3)             (67)              (127)               (274) 
 IAS 17 leases imputed interest (note 3)                                    112                112                 223 
 Finance fees extinguished (note 3)                                         396                  -                   - 
 Total financial expenses                                                 7,067              2,420               4,816 
---------------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 
 
 5. Taxation                                                     Six months   Six months ended                Year 
                                                                      ended                                  ended 
                                                              31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                                  unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                     GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
-----------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Current tax expense 
 Current period                                                       3,922              2,608               4,622 
 Non underlying items (note 3)                                          101              (349)             (1,004) 
  Corporation tax overprovided in previous periods                        -                  -                 359 
 Total current tax                                                    4,023              2,259               3,977 
-----------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 
 Deferred tax expense 
 Current period                                                           -               (11)                 873 
  Deferred tax on non underlying items (note 3)                     (3,363)              (316)               (621) 
  Prior year                                                              -                  -               (103) 
 Total deferred tax                                                 (3,363)              (327)                 149 
-----------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Total tax in the consolidated statement of comprehensive 
  income                                                                660              1,932               4,126 
-----------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Effective tax rate on profit before tax (before non 
  underlying items)                                                     19%                19%                  9% 
-----------------------------------------------------------  --------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 
 
 
 6. Earnings per share                                         Six months ended   Six months ended                Year 
                                                                                                                 ended 
                                                                  31 March 2019      31 March 2018   30 September 2018 
                                                                      unaudited          unaudited             audited 
                                                                         GBP000             GBP000              GBP000 
------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders                             6,078              6,528              10,648 
 Non underlying items (note 3)                                           10,598              4,716              15,897 
 Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders before 
  underlying items                                                       16,676             11,244              26,545 
 Weighted number of shares in issue for basic earnings per 
  share                                                             105,415,473         75,689,416          75,690,422 
 Effects of share options in issue                                      600,608             23,467              25,235 
------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 Weighted number of shares in issue for diluted earnings per 
  share                                                             106,016,081         75,712,883          75,715,657 
------------------------------------------------------------  -----------------  -----------------  ------------------ 
 

Diluted earnings per share is the basic earnings per share adjusted for the dilutive effect of the conversion into fully paid shares of the weighted average number of share options outstanding during the period.

 
 Earnings per share (pence per share) 
 Basic                                                                5.77p    8.62p   14.07p 
 Diluted                                                              5.73p    8.62p   14.06p 
 Earnings per share before non underlying items (pence per share) 
 Basic                                                               15.82p   14.86p   35.07p 
 Diluted                                                             15.73p   14.85p   35.06p 
------------------------------------------------------------------  -------  -------  ------- 
 

7. Business Combinations

On the 19 October 2018 Caretech Holdings plc acquired the entire share capital of Cambian Holdings plc for GBP359.9m.

Cambian is a leading Children's specialist education and behavioural health service provider looking after around 2,000 children across a portfolio of 222 residential facilities, specialist schools and fostering offices. It employs over 4,500 people. The rationale for the acquisition was:

- The acquisition of Cambian is a unique opportunity for investors to enhance exposure to the growing UK market for social care services for children and adults.

- Highly complementary service offering and geographical coverage providing a nationwide integrated care pathway focused on higher acuity social care.

- Combined operational expertise to better service local authority partners, deliver strong user outcomes, implement positive staff engagement and improve care quality.

- Opportunity to unlock significant value through a compelling strategic fit, tangible near-term synergies and enhanced trading liquidity.

The book values attributable to the acquisition were GBP201.9m net assets and provisional fair value and adjustments were GBP122.6m.

The provisional acquisition table is as follows:-

 
                                                Fair value 
                                Book values    adjustments      Total 
                                    GBP000s        GBP000s    GBP000s 
 Intangible assets                   38,496          8,859     47,355 
 Property plant & equipment         165,096        142,474    307,570 
 Trade and other receivables         11,366        (2,000)      9,366 
 Prepayments                          2,532                     2,532 
 Cash                                81,467                    81,467 
 Trade and other payables          (46,570)        (1,000)   (47,570) 
 Deferred income                   (21,965)                  (21,965) 
 Corporation tax                    (5,073)                   (5,073) 
 Finance leases                       (515)                     (515) 
 Deferred Tax                      (22,912)       (25,727)   (48,639) 
 Net Assets on acquisition          201,922        122,606    324,528 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Consideration paid                                           359,920 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Goodwill                                                      35,392 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 
 Consideration paid was:                                       GBP000 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Cash                                                         241,738 
 Settled in Shares                                            118,182 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Total consideration                                          359,920 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 
 Reconciliation to the 
  cash flow statement                                          GBP000 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Cash paid                                                    241,738 
 Cash acquired                                               (81,467) 
-----------------------------  ------------  -------------  --------- 
 Payments for business combination net of cash 
  acquired                                                    160,271 
----------------------------------------------------------  --------- 
 

Goodwill arises as a result the surplus of consideration over the fair value of the separately identifiable assets acquired.

Costs relating to this acquisition are expensed in the Income Statement in accordance with IFRS3 and are identified in note 3 non underlying items.

Goodwill is attributable to the future economic benefits arising from assets which are not capable of being individually identified and separately recognised, these include value of the assembled workforce within the business acquired.

8. Impact of IFRS 16 - Accounting for leases

IFRS 16 "Leases" will be adopted by the Group on 1 October 2019 for the financial year ending 30 September 2020. IFRS 16 will primarily change lease accounting for lessees. Under the new standard, lease agreements will give rise to the recognition of an asset representing the right to use of the leased item and an obligation for future lease payments. Lease costs will be recognised in the form of depreciation of the right to use asset and interest on the lease liability, resulting in a higher interest expense in the earlier years of the lease term whilst the total expense recognised in the Income Statement over the life of the lease will be unaffected by the new standard.

From the work performed to date, it is anticipated that implementation of the new standard will not have an impact on overall net assets but will have an impact on the reported assets and liabilities of the Group and will have an immaterial impact on future Profit Before Tax and Earnings Per Share.

IFRS 16 will not have any impact on the underlying commercial terms of each lease and will not have any impact on the commercial performance of the Group, nor the cash flow generated in the year.

Directors and Advisers

 
Company Number                                     Solicitors 
 04457287                                           Charles Russell Speechlys 
 Registered Office                                  5 Fleet Place 
 5(th) Floor, Metropolitan House                    London EC4M 7RD 
 3 Darkes Lane                                      Ashurst LLP 
 Potters Bar                                        Broadwalk House 
 Herts EN6 1AG                                      5 Appold Street 
                                                    London EC2A 2HA 
                                                    Registrars 
                                                    Link Asset Services 
                                                    Northern House 
                                                    Woodsome Park 
                                                    Fenay Bridge 
                                                    Huddersfield 
                                                    West Yorkshire HD8 0GA 
                                                    Auditor 
                                                    Grant Thornton UK LLP 
                                                    Victoria House 
                                                    4(th) Floor 
                                                    199 Avebury Boulevard 
                                                    Milton Keynes 
                                                    MK9 1AU 
Directors           (Executive Chairman) 
 Farouq Sheikh       (Chief Executive Officer) 
 Haroon Sheikh       (Interim Group Finance 
 Gareth Dufton       Director) 
 Mike Adams          (Care Partnerships Director) 
 Karl Monaghan       (Non-Executive Director) 
 Jamie Cumming       (Non-Executive Director) 
 Moira Livingston    (Non-Executive Director) 
Company Secretary 
 Gareth Dufton 
 Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker 
 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited 
 One New Change 
 London EC4M 9AF 
 Joint Brokers 
 WH Ireland 
 24 Martin Lane 
 London EC4R 0DR 
 
 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

END

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