PERSONAL GROUP HOLDINGS
PLC
("Personal Group", "Company"
or "Group")
Interim Results & Interim
Dividend for the six months ended 30 June 2024
Positive first half
performance, driven by growth across all business
lines
On track to meet market
expectations for the full year
Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM:
PGH), the workforce benefits and health insurance provider,
is pleased to announce its interim results for the six months
ended 30 June 2024.
The last six months have seen a
strong performance across the business with the evolution of a
clear strategy to capture a significant market opportunity. The
Company has delivered double digit revenue growth across all areas
of the business and notable EBITDA growth in excess of
30%.
Financial Highlights
·
|
Revenue from Continuing Operations*
up 14% to £21.0m (H1 2023: £18.4m), with growth across all
areas
|
·
|
Recurring revenue now 81% of total,
up from 76% in H1 2023
|
·
|
Adjusted EBITDA** from Continuing
Operations* up 31% to £3.9m (H1 2023: £3.0m)
|
·
|
Profit before tax from Continuing
Operations* up 14% to £2.3m (H1 2023: £2.0m)
|
·
|
Basic EPS of 5.4p (H1 2023:
4.5p)
|
·
|
Recurring revenue continues to
increase across the Group, providing high levels of visibility for
the second half of FY24 and beyond:
|
|
o
|
Insurance Annualised Premium Income
("API") increased by c.14%
to £33.8m (H1 2023: £29.6m)
|
|
o
|
Benefits Platform Annual Recurring
Revenue ("ARR") increased
c.15% to £6.3m (H1 2023: £5.5m)
|
|
o
|
Pay & Reward ARR increased c.6%
to £0.7m (H1 2023: £0.6m)
|
·
|
£5.2m of cash generated from
operations, with cash and deposits at 30
June 2024 of £23.1m (31 December 2023: £20.1m), and debt
free
|
·
|
Interim dividend increased by 11% to
6.5p (H1 2023: 5.85p), reflecting the Board's continued confidence
in the Group's performance and prospects
|
Operational Highlights
·
|
New annualised insurance sales up
21% to £6.9m (H1 2023: £5.8m), a result of
improved productivity alongside the growth in the size of the field
sales team
|
·
|
Disposal of Let's Connect post the
period-end has resulted in a simplified Group structure, enabling
greater focus on core areas of the business
|
·
|
Remaining business now has c.80% of
recurring revenues and is no longer impacted by the seasonality of
Let's Connect
|
·
|
36 new client wins in the period (H1
2023: 36)
|
·
|
Year on year retention rates for
insurance remained strong at over 80%
|
·
|
100% of Sage Employee Benefits
clients and c.40% of the Hapi Enterprise client base migrated
across to next generation Hapi 2.0 platform, with full migration anticipated by the end of the
year
|
Post-Period Trading and Outlook
·
|
Strong new insurance sales have
continued at the start of H2 2024, with retention rates remaining
robust
|
·
|
Trading in Q3 2024
continues to be in line
with management's expectations. This combined with the Group's
growing proportion of recurring revenues underpins the Board's
confidence in achieving market expectations for the full
year
|
*Continuing Operations excludes the results of Let's Connect,
which was disposed of on 9 July 2024
**Adjusted EBITDA is defined
as earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation of
intangible assets, goodwill impairment, share-based payment
expenses, corporate acquisition costs and restructuring costs; this
definition remains unchanged from previous
periods
Paula Constant, Chief Executive of Personal Group,
commented:
"We are pleased to be reporting another set of strong results,
showing continued growth, an increasing base of recurring revenue
with high customer retention and strong cash generation. In the
light of our strong performance to date in 2024, I am pleased to
announce an increased interim dividend of 6.5
pence.
Our aspiration is to be the champion of affordable and
accessible benefits, keeping businesses and their employees happy,
healthy and protected. Never has this been more
important. The ongoing cost-of-living pressures, increased sick
leave and long NHS waiting lists are combining to put considerable
pressure on UK businesses and their employees. We are focused on
providing them with the offerings they need to mitigate these
challenges.
We
have an excellent platform from which to grow. The work in my first
year as CEO to crystalise the strategy and simplify our products,
processes and organisation puts us in a strong position to
accelerate growth through both organic and inorganic channels,
delivering further value to all our
stakeholders."
For
more information please contact:
Personal Group Holdings Plc
|
|
Paula Constant / Sarah
Mace
|
via Alma
|
|
|
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Nominated Adviser &
Broker)
|
|
Max Hartley / Harry Rees
|
+44 (0)20 7523 8000
|
|
|
Alma
Strategic Communications
|
|
Caroline Forde / Joe Pederzolli /
Kinvara Verdon
|
+44 (0)20 3405 0205
personalgroup@almastrategic.com
|
Notes to Editors
Personal Group Holdings Plc (AIM:
PGH) is a workforce benefits and health insurance provider. Its
vision is to be the champion of affordable
and accessible insurance and benefits, keeping businesses and their
employees happy, healthy and protected. The
Group is proud to support the health and wellbeing of c. 1.25
million UK employees.
The Group's insurance provides
employees with access to affordable, individual policies
for hospital, recovery and death
benefit plans. The Group's
award-winning benefits platform, Hapi, brings together extensive
employee benefits, discounts and rewards, in one responsive
platform. As well as being sold direct to employers, the Hapi
platform supports Sage's Employee Benefits offerings for
SMEs.
This comprehensive range of
offerings, powerful platform and unique sales model of
face-to-face, one-to-one engagement with employees, provides
Personal Group with a strong market position from which to
grow.
Head-quartered in Milton Keynes, the
Group has built an extensive blue-chip customer list over its
40-year history, including Airtanker, B & Q, Barchester
Healthcare, British Transport Police, Merseyrail, Office of
National Statistics, Randstad, Royal Mail Group, The Royal Mint,
Stagecoach Group plc, and The University of York
For further information on the Group
please see www.personalgroup.com
CEO
STATEMENT
I am pleased to report on a strong
first half for the Group. We have seen record insurance sales
again, with our unique face-to-face sales model and focus on
increased effectiveness of the sales team driving high conversion
rates. Our higher margin recurring SaaS revenue continues to grow,
as we win new customers onto our Benefits platform, Hapi. We have
now successfully migrated a large proportion of our customer base
onto our next generation of the platform, providing an enhanced
experience for them and increased scalability for us. New customers
have been secured across both benefits and insurance divisions and
we continue to expand within our extensive customer
base.
The disposal of Let's Connect, our
salary sacrifice division, post period end has provided us with a
simplified structure, while reducing the cash impact of seasonality
within the business and enabling us to increase our focus on
recurring revenue streams. The proceeds of the disposal have
further strengthened our balance sheet, increasing our ability to
exploit what we see as a considerable opportunity ahead, through
both organic and acquisitive means.
Personal Group is now a more focused
business, with a majority of recurring revenue, high levels of cash
generation, a unique offering and an extensive customer base.
Following the completion of our market analysis and strategy
review, we have a clear, compelling strategy for growth, both
within our existing customer base and more broadly, building on
these strong foundations.
We are progressing a number of key
growth initiatives moving forwards. For insurance, these comprise
expanding our employee-paid portfolios, accelerating a simplified
digital offering across the SME market, and partnering to access a
greater proportion of employees in adjacent segments. We intend to
strengthen our existing employer-paid group cash plan offering,
establishing stronger broker relationships, and adding bolt on
options to enhance our proposition.
On employee benefits, we will grow
our higher margin, recurring SaaS revenue through further
developing our relationship with Sage, progressing additional
partnerships, continuing to monetise our eCommerce partnerships,
including adding further gamification options, and accelerating our
digital consulting propositions, which will also be offered through
our Hapi platform. Following full migration, we will enhance the
award-winning Hapi platform offering with further AI and
analytics.
We have agreed a set of aspirations
to exit 2030. The KPIs to gauge our progress include growing
revenues to in excess of £100m, group EBITDA to £30m, growth in our
face-to-face insurance capability coupled with significant
expansion into other channels, and an ambition to increase the size
of our current digital SaaS annual recurring revenues to £20m. We
believe we can achieve these based on organic initiatives but, with
the strength of our balance sheet, and available cash, we also have
the opportunity to accelerate growth through
acquisitions.
We continue to work on streamlining
and optimising our operations and I would like to thank the team
for their ongoing passion, pace and professionalism. We have huge
belief in the role we can play in positively impacting the
happiness, health and protection of the UK workforce and I am
excited to embark on delivering these aspirations with their
support.
Divisional H1 Segmental Analysis
Insurance
New annualised insurance sales in
the first six months rose by 21% to £6.9m (H1 2023: £5.8m), a
result of the growth in the size of the field sales team alongside
improved productivity and we recorded new 'best' performances for
'week' 'month' and 'quarter' during the period. This, alongside
continued strong retention levels, helped to drive up the API value
to £33.8m (31 Dec 2023: £31.6m) and led to an 11% increase in
earned premium for the period to £15.4m (H1 2023: £13.8m). New
customers secured in the period include Atalian and Europa
Worldwide Group.
As anticipated, claims levels for
the first half were higher than the previous year on Hospital Cash
plans, as activity to address NHS backlogs continued. These
combined factors resulted in a 3% increase in adjusted EBITDA
contribution to £5.3m (H1 2023: £5.1m). The
strong performance demonstrates both the market fit for the Group's
offerings, and the increasing efficiency and focus of the sales
team.
In July 2024, the Board approved its
annual Consumer Duty Report, which confirmed that we believe we are
meeting our FCA obligations in terms of product governance, fair
value, customer service and consumer understanding. We remain
committed to continually improving the way we monitor the outcomes
consumers experience as well as keeping up to date with FCA
guidance, thematic reviews and enforcement actions across the
industry.
Benefits
Platform
Uptake of the Group's digital
benefits platform, Hapi and Sage Employee Benefits ("SEB"), its SME
focused offering in partnership with Sage, continued, resulting
in growth in recurring subscription income,
which ended the half year with collective ARR of £6.3m (H1 2023:
£5.5m). Revenue from digital platform subscriptions and commissions
from third party benefit suppliers which sit on the platform rose
to £3.8m (H1 2023: £3.1m) with a resulting growth in EBITDA of 17%
to £2.2m (H1 2023: £1.8m).
Migration of customers onto the next
generation platform, Hapi 2.0, is progressing well, with all Sage
customers now migrated onto SEB 2.0 and 40% of direct customers
onto Hapi 2.0 with positive feedback received on both the improved
employee and employer user experiences.
The platform continues to win
notable industry awards, including Best Use of Technology in the
2024 Health and Wellbeing Awards, and Best Use of Technology in
Benefits in the 2024 Workplace Savings & Benefits
Awards.
Notable new Hapi customers secured
in the period include the Office of National Statistics, DHU
Healthcare and Karbon Homes.
Pay and
Reward
The Group's Pay & Reward
division had a positive period and as announced on 19 March,
secured a significant three‐year contract with a global airline,
worth £650,000 in total, contributing approximately £100,000 per
annum in ARR. The contribution from this
sector increased by c.11% with revenue of £1.2m (H1 2023: £1.1m)
and EBITDA of £0.3m (H1 2023: £0.2m).
Interim Dividend
The Company is pleased to announce
an interim dividend for 2024 of 6.5p, representing an 11% increase
on the previous year, to be paid on 8 November 2024 to members on
the register as at 4 October 2024. Shares will be marked
ex-dividend on 3 October 2024. The Board has considered the level
of dividend in the context of the expectation of full year results,
and this reflects continued confidence in
the Group's business model and prospects.
Current Trading and Outlook
The market opportunity is, I
believe, considerable and we have an
excellent platform from which to grow our recurring revenues
through both organic and inorganic means to deliver further value
to all our stakeholders.
Trading in Q3 has remained robust
and in line with management's expectations to date. This combined
with the Group's growing proportion of recurring revenues underpins
the Board's confidence in achieving market expectations for the
full year.
Paula Constant
Group Chief Executive
24 September 2024
Consolidated Income Statement
|
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited (Restated*)
|
|
|
Note
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Insurance revenue
|
|
15,409
|
13,848
|
|
Employee benefits and
services
|
|
4,976
|
4,212
|
|
Other income
|
|
69
|
69
|
|
Investment income
|
|
582
|
295
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Revenue
|
|
21,036
|
18,424
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Insurance service
expenses
|
4
|
(8,670)
|
(7,230)
|
|
Net expenses from reinsurance
contracts held
|
|
(47)
|
(57)
|
|
Employee benefits and services
expenses
|
|
(3,987)
|
(3,725)
|
|
Other expenses
|
|
(35)
|
(41)
|
|
Group administration
expenses
|
|
(5,954)
|
(5,296)
|
|
Share based payment
expenses
|
|
(80)
|
(110)
|
|
Charitable donations
|
|
(50)
|
(50)
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Expenses
|
|
(18,823)
|
(16,509)
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Operating profit
|
|
2,213
|
1,915
|
|
Finance costs
|
|
(53)
|
(22)
|
|
Unrealised gains on equity
investments
|
|
90
|
77
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Profit before tax
|
|
2,250
|
1,970
|
|
Tax
|
5
|
(376)
|
(306)
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Profit for the period after tax from continuing
operations
|
|
1,874
|
1,664
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Loss for the period from
discontinued operations
|
11
|
(185)
|
(255)
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Total comprehensive income for the period
|
|
1,689
|
1,409
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Earnings per share
|
6
|
Pence
|
Pence
|
Basic earnings (loss) per
share
|
|
|
|
Continuing operations
|
|
6.0
|
5.3
|
Discontinued operations
|
|
(0.6)
|
(0.8)
|
Total
|
|
5.4
|
4.5
|
|
|
|
|
Diluted earnings (loss) per
share
|
|
|
|
Continuing operations
|
|
5.9
|
5.3
|
Discontinued operations
|
|
(0.6)
|
(0.8)
|
Total
|
|
5.3
|
4.5
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The total comprehensive income for
the period is attributable to equity holders of Personal Group
Holdings Plc.
Consolidated Balance Sheet
|
|
|
At 30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
At 31 Dec 2023
Unaudited
(Restated*)
|
|
|
Note
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
ASSETS
|
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
|
|
Goodwill
|
7
|
2,684
|
2,684
|
|
Intangible assets
|
8
|
4,185
|
3,604
|
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
9
|
4,831
|
4,915
|
|
|
|
_______
|
_______
|
|
|
|
11,700
|
11,203
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
Current assets
|
|
|
|
|
Assets included in disposal group
classified as held for sale
|
11
|
1,719
|
7,639
|
|
Financial assets
|
10
|
3,335
|
4,035
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
|
7,996
|
8,872
|
|
Reinsurance contracts
held
|
|
6
|
(2)
|
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
|
20,692
|
17,433
|
|
Current tax assets
|
|
644
|
12
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
|
34,392
|
37,989
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
Total assets
|
|
46,092
|
49,192
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*Following the Group's decision to
sell Let's Connect, revenue and expenses,
gains and losses relating to the discontinuation of this subgroup
have been eliminated from profit of loss from the Group's
continuing operations and are shown as a single line in the
consolidated income statement. Assets and liabilities allocable to
Let's Connect have been classified as a disposal group.
See note 11 for further details.
Consolidated Balance Sheet
|
|
At 30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
At 31 Dec 2023
Unaudited
(Restated)
|
|
Note
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
EQUITY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Equity attributable to equity holders of Personal Group
Holdings plc
|
|
|
|
Share capital
|
|
1,562
|
1,562
|
Share premium
|
|
1,134
|
1,134
|
Capital redemption
reserve
|
|
24
|
24
|
Other reserve
|
|
(27)
|
(36)
|
Share based payment
reserve
|
|
582
|
513
|
Profit and loss reserve
|
|
28,665
|
28,798
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
Total equity
|
|
31,940
|
31,995
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
LIABILITIES
|
|
|
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Deferred tax liabilities
|
|
879
|
778
|
Trade and other payables
|
|
599
|
548
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
1,478
|
1,326
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
|
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
|
Liabilities included in disposal
group classified as held for sale
|
11
|
553
|
2,534
|
Trade and other payables
|
|
11,047
|
12,602
|
Insurance contract
liabilities
|
|
1,074
|
735
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
12,674
|
15,871
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
Total liabilities
|
|
14,152
|
17,197
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
Total equity and liabilities
|
|
46,092
|
49,192
|
|
|
________
|
________
|
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the six months
ended 30 June 2024
|
Share
capital
|
Share
Premium
|
Capital
redemption
reserve
|
Other
reserve
|
Share Based Payment
Reserve
|
Profit & loss
reserve
|
Total
equity
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 1 January 2024
|
1,562
|
1,134
|
24
|
(36)
|
513
|
28,798
|
31,995
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Dividends
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(1,827)
|
(1,827)
|
Employee share-based
compensation
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
69
|
11
|
80
|
Proceeds of SIP* share
sales
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
76
|
76
|
Cost of SIP shares sold
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
82
|
-
|
(82)
|
-
|
Cost of SIP shares
purchased
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(33)
|
-
|
-
|
(33)
|
Purchase of new shares
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(40)
|
-
|
-
|
(40)
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Transactions with owners
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
9
|
69
|
(1,822)
|
(1,744)
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Profit for the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,689
|
1,689
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Total comprehensive income for the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,689
|
1,689
|
|
________
|
________
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
Balance as at 30 June 2024
|
1,562
|
1,134
|
24
|
(27)
|
582
|
28,665
|
31,940
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
* PG Share Ownership Plan
(SIP)
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity for the six months
ended 30 June 2023
|
Share
capital
|
Share
Premium
|
Capital
redemption
reserve
|
Other
reserve
|
Share Based Payment
Reserve
|
Profit & loss
reserve
|
Total
equity
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance as at 1 January 2023
|
1,562
|
1,134
|
24
|
(55)
|
367
|
27,946
|
30,978
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Dividends
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(1,656)
|
(1,656)
|
Employee share-based
compensation
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
110
|
-
|
110
|
Proceeds of SIP* share
sales
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
12
|
12
|
Cost of SIP shares sold
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
17
|
-
|
(17)
|
-
|
Cost of SIP shares
purchased
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
(10)
|
-
|
-
|
(10)
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Transactions with owners
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
7
|
110
|
(1,661)
|
(1,544)
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Profit for the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,409
|
1,409
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Total comprehensive income for the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
1,409
|
1,409
|
|
________
|
________
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
_______
|
Balance as at 30 June 2023
|
1,562
|
1,134
|
24
|
(48)
|
477
|
27,694
|
30,843
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
* PG Share Ownership
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows from continuing
operations
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited
(Restated)
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Net cash from operating activities
(see opposite)
|
5,238
|
6,384
|
|
______
|
______
|
Investing activities
|
|
|
Additions to property, plant, and
equipment
|
(63)
|
(97)
|
Additions to intangible
assets
|
(1,250)
|
(865)
|
Proceeds from sale of property,
plant and equipment
|
54
|
-
|
Purchase of financial
assets
|
-
|
(29)
|
Sale of financial assets
|
790
|
-
|
Interest received
|
582
|
295
|
|
______
|
______
|
Net cash from investing
activities
|
113
|
(696)
|
|
______
|
______
|
Financing activities
|
|
|
Interest paid
|
-
|
(3)
|
Purchase of own shares by the
SIP
|
(6)
|
(6)
|
Proceeds from disposal of own shares
by the SIP
|
11
|
12
|
Payment of lease
liabilities
|
(270)
|
(229)
|
Dividends paid
|
(1,827)
|
(1,656)
|
|
______
|
______
|
Net cash used in financing
activities
|
(2,092)
|
(1,882)
|
|
______
|
______
|
Net
change in cash and cash equivalents from continuing
operations
|
3,259
|
3,806
|
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period from continuing
operations
|
17,433
|
16,700
|
|
_______
|
_______
|
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period from continuing
operations
|
20,692
|
20,506
|
|
________
|
________
|
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows from continuing
operations
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited
(Restated)
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Operating activities
|
|
|
Profit after tax
|
1,874
|
1,664
|
Adjustment for:
|
|
|
Depreciation
|
567
|
471
|
Amortisation of intangible
assets
|
669
|
383
|
(Profit) / Loss on disposal of
property, plant and equipment
|
(12)
|
14
|
Interest received
|
(582)
|
(295)
|
Realised and unrealised investment
gains
|
(90)
|
(77)
|
Interest charge
|
53
|
24
|
Share-based payment
expenses
|
80
|
111
|
Taxation expense recognised in
income statement
|
368
|
306
|
|
|
|
Changes in working capital:
|
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
868
|
875
|
Trade and other payables
|
2,003
|
3,068
|
Movement in insurance
liabilities
|
339
|
141
|
Inventories
|
-
|
(9)
|
Taxes paid
|
(899)
|
(292)
|
|
________
|
________
|
Net
cash from operating activities
|
5,238
|
6,384
|
|
________
|
________
|
Notes to the Consolidated Financial
Statements
1
General
information
The principal activities of Personal
Group Holdings Plc ('the Company') and subsidiaries (together 'the
Group') include transacting short-term accident and health
insurance and providing employee services in the UK.
The Company is a limited liability
company incorporated and domiciled in England. The address of its
registered office is John Ormond House, 899 Silbury Boulevard,
Milton Keynes, MK9 3XL.
The Company is listed on the
Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock
Exchange.
The condensed consolidated financial
statements do not include all the information required for full
annual financial statements and should be read in conjunction with
the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year
ended 31 December 2023.
The financial information for the
year ended 31 December 2023 set out in this interim report does not
constitute statutory accounts as defined in Section 434 of the
Companies Act 2006. The statutory financial statements for the year
ended 31 December 2023 have been filed with the Registrar of
Companies. The auditor's report on those financial statements
was unqualified and did not contain a statement under Section 498
(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
These interim financial statements
are unaudited and have not been reviewed by the auditors under
International Standard on Review Engagements (UK and Ireland)
2410.
These consolidated interim financial
statements have been approved for issue by the board of directors
on 24 September 2024.
2
Accounting policies
These interim consolidated financial
statements of Personal Group Holdings Plc are for the six months
ended 30 June 2024. These interim financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting as
endorsed for use in the UK.
They do not include all the
information required for a complete set of IFRS financial
statements. However, selected explanatory notes are included to
explain events and transactions that are significant to an
understanding of the changes in the Group's financial position and
performance since the last annual consolidated financial statements
as at and for the year ended 31 December 2023.
These financial statements have been
prepared in accordance with IFRS standards and IFRIC
interpretations as adopted by the UK, issued and effective as at 30
June 2024.
Insurance
contracts
IFRS 17 sets out the classification,
measurement and presentation and disclosure requirements for
insurance contracts. It requires insurance contracts to be measured
using current estimates and assumptions that reflect the timing of
cash flows and recognition of profits as insurance services are
delivered. The standard provides two main measurement models which
are the General Measurement Model ("GMM") and the Premium
Allocation Approach ("PAA").
The PAA simplifies the measurement
of insurance contracts for remaining coverage in comparison to the
GMM. The PAA is very similar to Personal Group's previous
accounting policies under IFRS 4 for calculating revenue, however
there are some presentation changes.
The GMM is used for the measurement
of the liability for incurred claims.
PAA
eligibility
Under IFRS 17, Personal Group's
insurance contracts issued and are all eligible to be measured by
applying the PAA, due to meeting the following criteria:
·
Insurance contracts with coverage period of one
year or less are automatically eligible. This covers all hospital,
convalescence, and death benefit insurance contracts.
·
Modelling of contracts with a coverage period
greater than one year (employee default policies) produces a
measurement for the group of reinsurance contracts that does not
differ materially from that which would be produced applying the
GMM.
Level of
aggregation
Personal Group manages all insurance
contracts as one portfolio within the insurance operating segment
as they are subject to similar risks.
Onerous
contracts
Under the PAA, it is assumed there
are no contracts in the portfolio that are onerous at initial
recognition, unless there are facts and circumstances that may
indicate otherwise. Given the short-tailed nature of policies
issued be Personal Group, management do not consider there to be
any material circumstance under which policies in issue would be
onerous.
Modification and
derecognition
Personal Group derecognises
insurance contracts when the rights and obligations relating to the
contract are extinguished (meaning discharged, cancelled, or
expired) or the contract is modified such that the modification
results in a change in the measurement model or the applicable
standard for measuring the contract.
Contract
boundaries
The measurement of insurance
contracts includes all future cash flows expected to arise within
the boundary of each contract. Cash flows are within the boundary
of an insurance contract if they arise from substantive rights and
obligations that exist during the reporting period
in which Personal Group can compel the
policyholder to pay premiums or in which it has a substantive
obligation to provide the policyholder with services.
Personal Group assesses the contract
boundary at initial recognition and at each subsequent reporting
date to include the effects of changes in circumstances on the
Group's substantive rights and obligations. The assessment of the
contract boundary, which defines the future cash flows that are
included in the measurement of the contract, requires judgement and
consideration.
Personal Group primarily issues
insurance contracts which provide coverage to policyholders in the
event of hospitalisation, convalescence, or death. While the
contracts are typically weekly or monthly in their term length, the
contract boundary is assessed with consideration of the delayed
timing around claims of this nature and the timing of expected
future claims payments with reference to the covered loss
event.
Measurement - Liability for
remaining coverage
On initial recognition of insurance
contract, the carrying amount of the liability for remaining
coverage is measured as the premiums received on initial
recognition, if any, minus any reinsurance acquisition expense cash
flows allocated to the contracts and any amounts arising from the
derecognition of the prepaid reinsurance acquisition expense cash
flows asset. Personal Group has chosen not to expense insurance
acquisition expense cash flows as incurred on its contracts as they
have coverage of less than one year.
Subsequently, at the end of each
reporting period, the liability for remaining coverage is increased
by any additional premiums received in the period and decreased for
the amounts of expected premium cash flows recognised as
reinsurance revenue for the services provided in the
period.
Personal Group has elected not to
adjust the liability for remaining coverage for the time value of
money as its insurance contracts do not contain a significant
financing component.
3
Segment analysis
The segments used by management to
review the operations of the business are disclosed
below.
1)
Insurance
Personal Assurance Plc (PA), a
subsidiary within the Group, is a PRA regulated general insurance
Company and is authorised to transact accident and sickness
insurance. It was established in 1984 and has been underwriting
business since 1985. In 1997 Personal Group Holdings Plc (PGH) was
created and became the ultimate parent undertaking of the
Group.
Personal Assurance (Guernsey)
Limited (PAGL), a subsidiary within the Group, is regulated by the
Guernsey Financial Services Commission and has been underwriting
death benefit policies since March 2015.
This operating segment derives the
majority of its revenue from the underwriting by PA and PAGL of
insurance policies that have been bought by employees of host
companies via bespoke benefit programmes. During 2020 PAGL began
underwriting employee default insurance for a proportion of LC
customers.
2) Benefits
Platform
Revenue in this segment relates to
the annual subscription income and other related income arising
from the licensing of Hapi, the Group's employee benefit platform.
This includes sales to both the large corporate and SME
sectors.
3) Pay and
Reward
Pay and Reward refers to the trade
of the Group's pay and reward consultancy companies, Innecto,
purchased in 2019, and QCG, purchased in 2022. Revenue in this
segment relates to consultancy, surveys, and licence income derived
from selling digital platform subscriptions.
4)
Other
The other operating segment includes
revenue generated from the resale of vouchers. This segment also
consists of revenue generated by Berkeley Morgan Group (BMG) and
its subsidiary undertakings along with any investment and rental
income obtained by the Group.
Discontinued Operations -
Other Owned Benefits
This segment constitutes any goods
or services in the benefits platform supply chain which are owned
by the Group. At present this is made up of a technology salary
sacrifice business trading as PG Let's Connect, purchased by the
Group in 2014. The Group sold Let's Connect in July 2024 (see Note
11 for further details). As such, this segment is treated as
discontinued operations within these accounts.
The revenue and net result generated
by each of the Group's continuing operating segments are summarised
as follows,
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited -
Restated
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Revenue by Segment from continuing
activities
|
|
|
Insurance
|
15,409
|
13,848
|
Benefits Platform
|
5,207
|
4,563
|
Platform - Group
Elimination
|
(1,425)
|
(1,425)
|
Pay & Reward
|
1,194
|
1,074
|
Other
|
69
|
69
|
Investment income
|
582
|
295
|
Group Revenue from continuing activities
|
21,036
|
18,424
|
|
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA contribution from continuing activities by
segment
|
|
|
Insurance
|
5,291
|
5,143
|
Benefits Platform
|
2,161
|
1,842
|
Pay & Reward
|
347
|
172
|
Other
|
623
|
299
|
Group admin and central
costs
|
(4,510)
|
(4,449)
|
Charitable donations
|
(50)
|
(50)
|
Adjusted EBITDA from continuing activities
|
3,862
|
2,957
|
Depreciation
|
(567)
|
(471)
|
Amortisation
|
(669)
|
(383)
|
Interest
|
(52)
|
(22)
|
Share based payments
expenses
|
(80)
|
(111)
|
Reorganisation Costs
|
(244)
|
-
|
Profit before tax from continuing activities
|
2,250
|
1,970
|
|
|
|
The revenue and net result generated
by the Group's discontinued operating segment is summarised as
follows,
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Revenue by Segment from discontinued
activities
|
|
|
Other Owned Benefits
|
2,489
|
3,563
|
Group Revenue from discontinued activities
|
2,489
|
3,563
|
|
|
|
Adjusted EBITDA contribution from discontinued
activities
|
|
|
Other Owned Benefits
|
(200)
|
(287)
|
Adjusted EBITDA from discontinued activities
|
(200)
|
(287)
|
Depreciation
|
(34)
|
(35)
|
Amortisation
|
(14)
|
(16)
|
Interest
|
(1)
|
(2)
|
Profit before tax from discontinuing
activities
|
(249)
|
(340)
|
All income was derived from
customers that are based in the UK.
4
Insurance service expenses
|
6 months ended 30 June
2024
|
6 months
ended
30 June
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Claims incurred
|
5,028
|
3,750
|
Insurance operating
expenses
|
3,642
|
3,480
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
8,670
|
7,230
|
|
________
|
________
|
5
Taxation
The tax expense recognised is based
on the weighted average annual tax rate expected for the full
financial year multiplied by management's best estimate of the
taxable profit of the interim reporting period.
The Group's consolidated effective
tax rate in respect of continuing operations for the six-month
period ended 30 June 2024 was 16.7% (six-month period ended 30 June
2023: 15.5%). The tax charge recognised in the prior period
benefited from the application of the super-deduction capital
allowances tax relief, which ended on 31 March 2023.
6
Earnings per share and dividends
The weighted average numbers of
outstanding shares used for basic and diluted earnings per share
are as follows:
|
6 months ended
30 June 2024
|
EPS
Pence
|
6 months ended
30 June 2023
|
EPS
Pence
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
31,223,218
|
5.4
|
31,230,807
|
4.5
|
Diluted
|
31,950,931
|
5.3
|
31,230,807
|
4.5
|
During the first six months of 2024
Personal Group Holdings Plc paid dividends of £1,827,000 to its
equity shareholders (2023: £1,656,000). This represents a payment
of 5.85p per share (2023: 5.30p).
|
6 months
ended
30 June
2024
|
6 months
ended
30 June
2023
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Dividends paid or provided for
during the period
|
1,827
|
1,656
|
|
_____
|
_____
|
7
Goodwill
|
Let's
Connect
|
Pay &
Reward
|
Total
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
10,575
|
2,684
|
13,259
|
Additions in the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Disposals in the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
________
_______
|
________
_______
|
________
|
At 30 June 2024
|
10,575
|
2,684
|
13,259
|
|
________ _________
|
________ _________
|
________
|
Amortisation and impairment
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
10,575
|
-
|
10,575
|
Impairment charge for
period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
Disposals in period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
________ _________
|
________ _________
|
________ _________
|
At 30 June 2024
|
10,575
|
-
|
(10,575)
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Net
book value at 30 June 2024
|
-
|
2,684
|
2,684
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Net book value at 31 December
2023
|
-
|
2,684
|
2,684
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
8 Intangible
assets
|
Let's Connect Customer
Value
|
Pay & Reward customer
book and trade name
|
Innecto
Technology
|
Computer software and
development
|
Internally Generated Computer
Software
|
WIP
|
Total
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
1,648
|
1,063
|
298
|
2,323
|
506
|
2,948
|
8,786
|
Transfers
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
2,806
|
-
|
(2,806)
|
-
|
Additions
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
58
|
-
|
1,192
|
1,250
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
At 30 June 2024
|
1,648
|
1,063
|
298
|
5,187
|
506
|
1,334
|
10,036
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Amortisation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
1,648
|
803
|
290
|
1,935
|
506
|
-
|
5,182
|
Amortisation charge for the
period
|
-
|
58
|
8
|
603
|
-
|
-
|
669
|
Disposals in the period
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
-
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
At 30 June 2024
|
1,648
|
861
|
298
|
2,538
|
506
|
-
|
5,851
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Net
book amount at 30 June 2024
|
-
|
202
|
-
|
2,649
|
-
|
1,334
|
4,185
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
Net book amount at 31 December
2023
|
-
|
260
|
8
|
388
|
-
|
2,948
|
3,604
|
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
________
|
9
Property, plant and equipment
|
Freehold land and
properties
|
Motor vehicles
|
Computer
equipment
|
Furniture fixtures &
fittings
|
Right of use Assets
|
Total
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Cost
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
5,037
|
53
|
1,491
|
2,210
|
1,916
|
10,707
|
Additions
|
-
|
-
|
63
|
-
|
460
|
523
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
(253)
|
-
|
(580)
|
(833)
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
At 30 June 2024
|
5,037
|
53
|
1,301
|
2,210
|
1,796
|
10,397
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
Depreciation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At 1 January 2024
|
2,002
|
41
|
1,224
|
1,555
|
970
|
5,792
|
Provided in the period
|
43
|
5
|
109
|
80
|
330
|
567
|
Disposals
|
-
|
-
|
(253)
|
-
|
(540)
|
(793)
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
At 30 June 2024
|
2,045
|
46
|
1,080
|
1,635
|
760
|
5,566
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
Net
book amount at
30
June 2024
|
2,992
|
7
|
221
|
575
|
1,036
|
4,831
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
Net book amount at
31 December 2023
|
3,035
|
12
|
267
|
655
|
946
|
4,915
|
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
______
|
10 Financial Investments
|
At 30 June
2024
Unaudited
|
At 31 December
2023
Audited
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
Bank deposits
|
1,775
|
2,565
|
Equity investments
|
1,560
|
1,470
|
|
________
|
________
|
|
3,335
|
4,035
|
|
_________
|
_________
|
IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement establishes a
fair value hierarchy that categorises into three levels the inputs
to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The fair value
hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices (unadjusted)
in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1
inputs) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3
inputs)
·
Level 1: quoted prices (unadjusted) in active
markets for identical assets or liabilities
·
Level 2: inputs other than quoted prices included
within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or
liability, either
directly (i.e., as prices) or indirectly (i.e., derived from
prices)
·
Level 3: inputs for the asset or liability that
are not based on observable market data (unobservable
input).
Bank deposits, held at amortised
cost, are due within 6 months and the amortised cost is a
reasonable approximation of the fair value. These would be included
within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy.
Equity Investments are held at fair
value and are considered Level 1 financial assets.
11 Disposal group classified as held for sale and
discontinued operations
At the start of 2024 (following an
ongoing strategy review), management decided it would look to sell
the Group's technology salary sacrifice division ("Let's Connect").
Consequently, assets and liabilities allocable to Let's Connect
were classified as a disposal group. Revenue and expenses, gains
and losses relating to the discontinuation of this subgroup have
been eliminated from the profit or loss from the Group's continuing
operations and are shown as a single line in the consolidated
income statement.
On 10 July 2024, Let's Connect was
sold for a total consideration of £2.0m on a cash-free, debt-free
basis.
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Revenue
|
2,491
|
3,563
|
Operating expenses
|
(2,738)
|
(3,902)
|
|
______
|
______
|
Loss from discontinued operations
before tax
|
(247)
|
(340)
|
|
______
|
______
|
Tax credit
|
62
|
85
|
|
______
|
______
|
Loss for the period from discontinued
operations
|
(185)
|
(255)
|
|
______
|
______
|
The carrying amounts of assets and
liabilities in this disposal group are summarised as
follows:
|
At 30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
At 31 Dec 2023
Audited
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Non-current assets
|
|
|
Intangible assets
|
36
|
50
|
Property, plant and
equipment
|
74
|
105
|
Current assets
|
|
|
Trade and other
receivables
|
796
|
7,143
|
Inventories
|
215
|
277
|
Cash and cash equivalents
|
598
|
64
|
|
________
|
________
|
Assets classified as held for sale
|
1,719
|
7,639
|
|
|
|
Non-current liabilities
|
|
|
Deferred tax liabilities
|
12
|
12
|
Current liabilities
|
|
|
Trade and other payables
|
541
|
2,522
|
|
________
|
________
|
Liabilities classified as held for sale
|
553
|
2,534
|
|
|
|
The table below shows the results
of cashflows attributable to discontinued operations for the six
months ended 30 June 2024 and 30 June 2023.
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2024
Unaudited
|
6 months
ended
30 June 2023
Unaudited
|
|
£'000
|
£'000
|
|
|
|
Net cash from operating
activities
|
586
|
58
|
Net cash from investing
activities
|
4
|
(9)
|
Net cash from financing
activities
|
(56)
|
14
|
|
________
|
________
|
Net
increase in cash and cash equivalents from discontinued
operations
|
534
|
63
|
|
______
|
______
|
12 Long Term
Incentive Plan (LTIP)
During the period, the Remuneration
Committee granted a fourth tranche of share awards under the
existing LTIP Scheme approved on 6 April 2021. Further details of
the award can be found in the RNS announcement from 05 April
2024.
Under the scheme share options of
Personal Group Holdings Plc are granted to senior executives with
an Exercise Price of 5p (nominal value of the shares). The share
options have various market and non-market performance conditions
which are required to be achieved for the options to vest. The
options also contain service conditions that
require option holders to remain in
employment of the Group. The market and non-market performance
conditions are set out below.
Total Shareholder Return (Market condition)
50% of the awards vest under this
condition. Subject to Compound Annual
Growth Rate (CAGR) of the Total Shareholder Return (TSR) over the
Performance Period.
EBITDA Target (Non-market
condition)
50% of the awards vest under this
condition. Subject to cumulative EBITDA
over the Performance Period.
The fair value of the of the share
options is estimated at the grant date using a Monte-Carlo binomial
option pricing model for the market conditions, and a Black-Scholes
pricing model for non-market conditions.
However, the above performance
condition is only considered in determining the number of
instruments that will ultimately vest.
There are no cash settlements
alternatives. The Group does not have a past practice of cash
settlement for these share options. The Group accounts for the LTIP
as an equity-settled plan.
In total, £69,000 of employee share-based compensation has been included
in the consolidated income statement to 30 June 2024 (2023:
£99,000). The corresponding credit is taken to equity. No
liabilities were recognised from share-based transactions. The
remaining £11,000 (2023: £11,000) of share-based compensation
expense relates to the Company Share Option Plan (CSOP).
13 Post
balance sheet events
On the 10 July 2024, the Group
disposed of the entire issued share capital of its technology
salary sacrifice division, Lets Connect IT Solutions Limited
("Let's Connect"), to SME HCI Limited (trading as The "Perkbox
Vivup Group") for a total up front cash consideration of £2.0m on a
cash-free, debt-free basis. In the six months to 30 June 2024,
Let's Connect delivered a loss before tax of £0.2m (six months to
30 June 2023: loss before tax of £0.3m).
14 Financial
calendar for the year ending 31 December 2024
The Company announces the following
dates in its financial calendar for the year ending 31 December
2024:
· Preliminary results for the year ending 31 December
2024
- March
2025
· Publication of Report and Accounts for 2024
-
March 2025
· AGM
-
April/May 2025