JTC has announced strong full year results with record new business wins and organic growth in-line with upgraded guidance at a stable margin even as the Group continues to invest in growth.
JTC, which is listed as a FTSE 250 company on the London Stock Exchange (“LSE”), reported a 18.6% increase in total revenue to £305.4m with very good net organic growth of 11.3%, in-line with upgraded guidance for the Cosmos era of 10%+ per annum driven by a 15.9% increase in new business wins to a record £35.7m, and a stable underlying EBITDA margin of 33.3%.
The Group has achieved consistent growth during a year of macro uncertainty, notably securing six acquisitions at attractive multiples, including the Citi Trust business, which when completed, will make JTC the world’s leading independent provider of private trust services and will drive JTC’s revenue profile on a pro forma basis such that the US market becomes the Group’s largest region. This highly disciplined approach to M&A is complemented by the Group’s internal development as JTC adds new services that enhance its core fund, corporate and private client offering, allowing the group to grow its ‘share of wallet’ with existing clients, as well as winning new clients. With a global addressable market for its full range of services that JTC believes is at least $15.3bn per annum in size, there remains enormous opportunity for further long-term growth.
JTC’s Private Client Services (PCS) Division revenue increased strongly by 32.3% to £124.5m (2023: £94.1m) with an increase of 35.2% in underlying EBITDA to £46.4m (2023: £34.3m). The investments made in the PCS platform continued to bear fruit, with net organic revenue growth remaining very strong at 14.0%, while new business wins increased by an excellent 49% to £15.2m (2023: £10.2m). The continued strong organic growth of the Division reflects both the quality and range of JTC’s PCS offering as well as its ability to capture value from acquisitions, in particular those in the US. These successes, along with continued ambitious growth plans and a clear plan to fully integrate the Citi Trust business once regulatory approvals are received, form the foundation of the Division’s plans as it enters the second year of the Cosmos era.
The Group’s Institutional Client Services (ICS) Division, which focuses on fund and corporate services, saw revenues increase by 10.8% to £180.9m (2023 £163.3m) with a 7.2% increase in underlying EBITDA to £55.3m (2023: £51.6m). Underlying EBITDA margin decreased by 1pp to 30.6% (2023: 31.6%) and despite a challenging environment with fewer fund launches and IPO’s, net organic revenue growth was robust at 9.9% following the exceptional performance in the prior year (2023: 19.4%). JTC’s ability to identify and complete value accretive deals continued with four acquisitions completed during the period, the most significant of which was the acquisition of FFP, which was announced in June and completed in November.
The acquisition enhances and differentiates the range of fiduciary services JTC can offer to existing and new clients, serving to expand the Group’s overall addressable market.
In recognition of the tremendous success of its Galaxy era business plan, which ran from 2021 to 2023 and saw the Group double in size, in July 2024 JTC made ‘shared ownership’ awards through its Employee Incentive Plan of c. £50m in JTC shares to all eligible employees globally.
The Board was pleased to propose a final dividend of 8.24p, resulting in a 2024 dividend per share of 12.54p (2023: 11.17p), which was a 12.3% increase on the prior year.
Nigel Le Quesne (pictured), CEO of JTC PLC, added: “2024 was the first year of our Cosmos era business plan and we have made a fast start towards our goal of doubling the size of the Group for the third time since IPO. We delivered record new business wins, organic growth above our upgraded guidance and a strong margin, even as we continue to invest in growth.
“Alongside the strong organic performance, we announced or completed six acquisitions during the period, including Citi Trust, the global trust company business of Citi Bank. This is a significant addition to our PCS Division and cements JTC’s position of the world’s leading independent trust company business.
“We have carried strong momentum into 2025, growing our new business enquiry pipeline, a driver of organic growth, to £55m by the end of Q1 and we maintain a healthy pipeline of further M&A opportunities across both Divisions.
“Finally, we were delighted to be able to make an award of c. £50m to our global workforce, in recognition of their collective achievement to double the size of the Group in just three years by delivering our Galaxy era plan. Our commitment to ownership for all employees remains our defining characteristic and I thank our employee-owners for their dedication to our clients and for bringing the JTC culture to life.”
