Investment accounts
Adult accounts
Child accounts
Choosing Fidelity
Choosing Fidelity
Why invest with us Current offers Fees and charges Open an account Transfer investments
Financial advice & support
Fidelity’s Services
Fidelity’s Services
Financial advice Retirement Wealth Management Investor Centre (London) Bereavement
Guidance and tools
Guidance and tools
Choosing investments Choosing accounts ISA calculator Retirement calculators
Share dealing
Choose your shares
Tools and information
Tools and information
Share prices and markets Chart and compare shares Stock market news Shareholder perks IPOs and placings
Pensions & retirement
Pensions, tax & tools
Saving for retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Approaching / In retirement
Speak to a specialist Creating a retirement plan Taking tax-free cash Pension drawdown Annuities Investing in retirement Investment Pathways
GlobalData confident after year of solid growth
(Sharecast News) - Data, analytics and insights platform GlobalData reported a 12% rise in revenue in its full-year results on Monday, to £273.1m, accompanied by a 32% increase in operating profit to £73.7m. The AIM-traded firm said its operating profit margins also saw a significant uptick in the 12 months ended 31 December, reaching 27%, up by four percentage points.
Adjusted EBITDA rocketed 28% to £110.8m, with the adjusted EBITDA margin expanding to 41%, reflecting a five-percentage-point increase.
Statutory profit before tax climbed to £41.5m, representing an 8% increase over the prior year, while adjusted earnings per share rose 11% to reach 6.8p.
The company proposed a final dividend of 3.2p per share, resulting in a total dividend increase of 28% to 4.6p per share.
GlobalData outlined its new growth transformation plan for the years 2024 to 2026, accompanied by a reorganisation into three focussed divisions - healthcare, consumer and technology.
The board said the initiative aimed to accelerate growth through various means, including investments in artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, sales expansion, talent acquisition, and merger and acquisition activities.
An impending acquisition of a 40% stake in the healthcare division by Inflexion Private Equity Partners was on track for completion in the second quarter, the board said.
The transaction, valued at £434m, was expected to provide significant flexibility for further value-creating merger and acquisition endeavours across the group.
Looking ahead, GlobalData said it had entered the new financial year in a strong position, with robust revenue visibility and a sound balance sheet.
The company said it was focussed on delivering accelerated growth, leveraging its 'gold standard' data offerings and maintaining a disciplined approach to cost management and capital allocation.
With clear financial targets set for the 2024 financial year and beyond, including a steady progression towards a 45% adjusted EBITDA margin and a target revenue of £500m by the end of 2026, GlobalData said it was poised for sustained organic growth and strategic expansion opportunities within its three customer-focussed divisions.
"2023 has been a year of positive operational and financial momentum for GlobalData," said chief executive officer Mike Danson.
"Over the last four years we have transformed this business, having completed our growth optimisation plan, which was set to finish at the end of 2024, earlier than planned.
"Investment in our 'One Platform' has continued at pace as a wide range of corporates embed our mission critical data into their workflow."
Danson said the company was looking forward to welcoming Inflexion, which would invest to become a 40% minority shareholder in its healthcare business.
"This significant milestone in our evolution will unlock substantial value for our shareholders and offers us the flexibility to launch a more ambitious approach to growth, including accelerating value-creating mergers and acquisitions across the group.
"We enter the new financial year with the group now re-organised across three customer-focused divisions - healthcare, consumer and technology and with 80% revenue visibility."
Investing in its product and AI, sales resources and mergers and acquisitions were described by Mike Danson as key priorities.
"With a clear vision and a strong team ready to execute our new growth transformation plan, we look forward to the year ahead with confidence as we seek to significantly expand GlobalData's scale, speed up our growth, and sustain value creation for our stakeholders."
At 1039 GMT, shares in GlobalData were up 0.03% at 178.05p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Share this article
Related Sharecast Articles
Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment you should speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice. When you are thinking about investing in shares, it’s generally a good idea to consider holding them alongside other investments in a diversified portfolio of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.
Award-winning online share dealing
Search, compare and select from thousands of shares.
Expert insights into investing your money
Our team of experts explore the world of share dealing.
Policies and important information
Accessibility | Conflicts of interest statement | Consumer Duty Target Market | Consumer Duty Value Assessment Statement | Cookie policy | Diversity and Inclusion | Doing Business with Fidelity | Fidelity gender pay report | Investing in Fidelity funds | Legal information | Modern slavery | Mutual respect policy | Privacy statement | Remuneration policy | Security | Statutory and Regulatory disclosures | Whistleblowing policy
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance, the performance of investments is not guaranteed, and the value of your investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investments have particular tax features, these will depend on your personal circumstances and tax rules may change in the future. This website does not contain any personal recommendations for a particular course of action, service or product. You should regularly review your investment objectives and choices and, if you are unsure whether an investment is suitable for you, you should contact an authorised financial adviser. Before opening an account, please read the ‘Doing Business with Fidelity’ document which incorporates our client terms. Prior to investing into a fund, please read the relevant key information document which contains important information about the fund.
This website is issued by Financial Administration Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) (FCA Register number 122169) and registered in England and Wales under company number 1629709 whose registered address is Beech Gate, Millfield Lane, Lower Kingswood, Tadworth, Surrey, KT20 6RP.