Alpha Group confident after first half growth

(Sharecast News) - Alpha Group International reported a strong first-half financial performance on Wednesday, with revenue growth across its divisions and a solid profit increase, despite challenging market conditions. The FTSE 250 company said that for the six months ended 30 June, group revenue rose 16% to over £64m, driven by gains in both its corporate and institutional divisions.

It said the corporate division's revenue grew 12% to £30m, while the institutional division saw a 15% increase to £33m.

The recent acquisition of Cobase contributed £1m in revenue - an 80% increase compared to pre-acquisition levels in 2023.

Profit before tax increased 18% to £60.8m, while underlying profit before tax rose 14% to £22.3m.

Excluding Cobase, organic profit growth was even stronger at 21%.

The company maintained a 38% organic underlying profit margin, and client balances increased 11% to £2.1bn.

Net treasury income also rose by 19%, boosting total income to £107 million.

Operationally, Alpha expanded its client base across key services - corporate FXRM client numbers rose 9%, while institutional FXRM clients increased by 19%.

Alternative banking accounts also saw substantial growth, with a 31% rise in client numbers.

Those gains were supported by a 11% growth in the group's front office headcount, reflecting continued investment in talent and technology.

In line with its strong financial position, Alpha completed a £20m share buyback in June and launched an additional buyback of up to £20m.

The company also declared an interim dividend of 4.2p per share, up from 3.7p in 2023.

Alpha also noted its inclusion in the FTSE 250 in June and the appointment of Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia as chair designate.

Despite macroeconomic challenges, the company said it was confident in achieving full-year results in line with expectations, buoyed by strong performance in July and August.

Alpha's outlook remained cautiously optimistic, with a focus on maintaining growth and operational efficiency amid ongoing market headwinds.

"Our teams have continued to deliver a strong performance with double-digit growth across our corporate and institutional divisions, despite the challenging market backdrop, reflecting the strength of our diversified model and the rewards of our investments to date," said chief executive officer Morgan Tillbrook.

"Additionally, the current interest rate environment continues to produce a NTI tailwind, contributing further to our balance sheet strength, whilst also enabling us to announce this year up to £40m in share buybacks.

"With the foundations established for long-term and sustainable growth through investment in our talent, product, and network of overseas offices, we enter the next chapter of our growth primed to 'expand' across our chosen verticals, retaining the same ambition and determination that has taken us from a single office in Berkshire to a FTSE 250-listed global operation in just 15 years."

Tillbrook said the company's overseas offices were "closely following" the successful blueprint established in the UK, providing a sense of the opportunity available as the firm scaled.

"At the same time, our strong cash position enables us to remain flexible to invest in those areas we feel would benefit from further capital.

"It would be remiss of me not to recognise the hard work across the group that has taken us to this point and will continue to drive us in the future.

"Our team members remain our greatest strength, and I would like to thank all for their essential contribution to our performance."

At 0823 BST, shares in Alpha Group International were down 1.32% at 2,398p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.