Learning Technologies Group PLC Trading Statement (2948H)

TIDMLTG

RNS Number : 2948H

Learning Technologies Group PLC

24 March 2020

Learning Technologies Group plc

FCA moratorium on publication of preliminary financial statements

Update on FY19, current trading and actions in response to COVID-19

Learning Technologies Group plc ("LTG" or the "Company"), the provider of services and technologies for digital learning and talent management, confirms that it will comply with the recommendation from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to all listed companies to delay the publication of preliminary financial statements for at least two weeks, following a similar request from the FCA on 21 March 2020 relating to companies listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.

LTG was one of a number of companies alerted to the FRC recommendation on Monday 23 March, ahead of the planned announcement of our preliminary financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2019, originally scheduled for release today.

Given the advice from the FRC, we are providing an update today on FY19, current trading and our actions in response to COVID-19.

An update will be given as to the timing of the publication of our FY19 results, as soon as further advice from the FRC, the FCA and the London Stock Exchange becomes available.

FY19 strategic highlights

 
 --   Good organic momentum from cross-selling initiatives and investment 
       in product development 
 --   Content & Services returned to organic constant currency growth, 
       as expected 
 --   Highly complementary acquisition of Open LMS, post period-end, 
       adds expertise in a market-leading Learning Management System 
       ('LMS') predominantly for higher education institutions and is 
       immediately earnings enhancing (expected to complete on 31 March 
       2020) 
 

FY19 financial highlights

 
 --   FY19 profit and cash performance ahead of expectations as announced 
       on 21 January 2020 
 

o Revenue of GBP130.1m; 39% increase on 2018

o Adjusted EBIT of GBP41.0m; 58% increase on 2018

 
 --   Strong increase in recurring revenues, reflecting excellent performance 
       in Software & Platforms division including improved retention 
       rate in PeopleFluent 
 --   Software & Platforms (68% of Group revenue) 
 

o Organic constant currency revenue up 6% (c.11% on a three year CAGR basis), excluding PeopleFluent

o PeopleFluent ahead of expectations and on track to return to growth in 2020 as guided at the time of the acquisition in 2018, subject to the impact of COVID-19

o BreezyHR (acquired April 2019) delivered c.60% organic growth and extended our talent acquisition products into the small, mid and enterprise market

 
 --   Content & Services (32% of Group revenue) 
 

o Organic constant currency revenue up 8% in the Division's three content businesses, LEO, Preloaded and Eukleia, in line with previous guidance

o Strong recovery, as previously guided, reflects H2 momentum from LEO and Preloaded

o Cross-selling supporting recent wins

o Overall, organic revenue (excluding CSL contract) up 4% (c.5% on a three-year CAGR basis), reflecting a small deliberate reduction in the services division of PeopleFluent Learning following our strategic decision in late 2018 to cease to provide customisations on our SaaS LMS platform in line with good industry practice

 
 --   Strong margin progression, with EBIT margins up 380 basis points 
       to 31.5% 
 --   Excellent cash performance: net cash of GBP3.8 million at year-end, 
       ahead of expectations 
 

Current trading

 
 --   Current financial year has started well and is in line with management 
       expectations 
 --   Gross cash as of the date of this announcement is c.GBP54.0 million 
       including drawdown of the $21 million RCF in preparation for the 
       acquisition of Open LMS expected to complete on 31 March 2020 
 --   We have not yet seen a material impact from the ongoing COVID-19 
       outbreak on our performance. We anticipate our recurring revenues 
       to continue, but content projects may be impacted as customers 
       manage their own cash positions and new business wins delayed 
 

Actions in response to COVID-19

 
 --   In light of the potential impact of COVID-19, management has taken 
       proactive measures to prioritise the strong liquidity and net 
       cash position of the Group and to follow WHO and government guidance 
       to protect the safety of our workforce, customers and partners 
 --   To sustain our position of strength, the Board is adopting a prudent 
       approach to shareholder distributions, and will postpone the final 
       dividend (proposed at 0.50 pence per share) until market conditions 
       stabilise 
 --   We have postponed Director cash bonuses until market conditions 
       stabilise; however, we will honour our substantial bonus payments 
       to our staff to reflect their significant and positive contribution 
       to our performance in 2019 
 --   We will fund the deferred consideration of BreezyHR through shares 
       in lieu of cash payment of $4.0 million due at end of March 2020 
 --   We have taken a number of other measures to protect LTG's strong 
       financial position including a reduction in marketing, travel 
       and capital expenditure budgets. We have also postponed salary 
       increases for all staff until 2021, terminated the majority of 
       contractors and implemented a recruitment freeze 
 --   We estimate the combined cash saving in 2020 from these measures 
       is in excess of GBP13.0 million 
 --   COVID-19 creates uncertainty for the remainder of the financial 
       year but the Board has further cash preservation measures that 
       it is willing to implement if appropriate, recognising that maintaining 
       our dedicated and talented workforce is a key priority in anticipation 
       of the upturn 
 

Jonathan Satchell, CEO of LTG, said:

"2019 was an exceptional year for LTG. We saw excellent momentum in our Software & Platform businesses, and a return to organic growth in Content & Services, as expected. I am particularly pleased to see our investment in product development and cross-selling initiatives supporting organic growth, while we continue to improve margins and cash performance.

In recent weeks the macro picture has evolved quickly, in light of the COVID-19 outbreak. As you would expect, protecting our people and customers has been our top priority in recent days and weeks, and we are committed to supporting them at this time. Whilst we are in a strong financial position with good liquidity, we are working hard to limit the impact of COVID-19 on our business and performance, and have extensive contingency planning in place to mitigate the risks from the unprecedented climate we are in. As part of our planning, the Board has taken immediate and prudent action to protect our strong liquidity position until market conditions stabilise."

Financial summary:

 
 GBPm unless otherwise stated         2019    2018     Change 
----------------------------------- 
 Revenue                              130.1   93.9     +39% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Recurring Revenue %                  74%     68% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Revenue Outside UK %                 80%     74% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Adj. EBIT                            41.0    26.0     +58% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Adjusted EBIT margin                 31.5%   27.7% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Statutory PBT                        14.3    3.4      +316% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Adj. Diluted EPS (pence)             4.7     3.2      +47% 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Proposed final dividend per share 
  (pence)                             0.00    0.35 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 Net Cash/(Debt)                      3.8     (11.5) 
                                     ------  -------  ------- 
 

Enquiries:

 
 Learning Technologies Group plc 
  Jonathan Satchell, Chief Executive                [phone] 
  Neil Elton, Chief Financial Officer                1554 
 Numis Securities Limited (NOMAD and Corporate 
  Broker) 
  Stuart Skinn e r , (Nomad), Nick Westlake, Ben    [phone] 
  Stoop                                              1000 
 Goldman Sachs International (Joint Corporate 
  Broker)                                           [phone] 
  Bertie Whitehead, Adam Laikin                               1000 
 FTI Consulting (Public Relations Adviser)          [phone] 
  Rob Mindell, Jamie Ricketts, Chris Birt                     1000 
 

About LTG

LTG is a leader in the growing workplace digital learning and talent management market. The Group offers end-to-end learning and talent solutions ranging from strategic consultancy, through a range of content and platform solutions to analytical insights that enable corporate and government clients to close the gap between current and future workforce capability.

LTG is listed on the London Stock Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (LTG.L) and headquartered in London. The Group has offices in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific.

Notes

1. All financials in this statement relating to FY19 are unaudited.

2. Links to the FRC and FCA announcements, for reference:

https://www.frc.org.uk/news/march-2020-(1)/frc-supports-moratorium-in-corporate-reporting

https://www.fca.org.uk/news/statements/fca-requests-delay-forthcoming-announcement-preliminary-financial-accounts

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March 24, 2020 03:00 ET (07:00 GMT)