23rd Sep 2015 08:46
LONDON (Alliance News) - NAHL Group PLC on Wednesday said its pretax profit rose in the first half following a robust trading period, though the group said it continues to see short-term pressure on its product income.
The UK consumer marketing company, which runs the National Accident Helpline, said its pretax profit for the six months to the end of June was GBP6.5 million, up from GBP5.4 million a year earlier.
Revenue rose to GBP25.4 million from GBP22.1 million, partly boosted by the acquisition of online marketing company Fitzalan, while enquiries for the company rose 9.4%, driven by higher margin non-road traffic accident and medical negligence cases.
NAHL said its revenue is facing a short-term strain from the introduction of Medco, which was launched by the UK Ministry of Justice in April and which changes the way medical reports are sourced for soft tissue injuries. But NAHL expects this to return to growth in 2016 through product launches.
The company said it will pay an interim dividend of 6.25 pence per share, up from 5.0 pence a year earlier.
"We are pleased to report another strong set of interim results, reflecting the ongoing progress made as the group continues to grow. We have delivered a good performance within the core business driven by further growth of enquiry numbers illustrating the strength of our brand and the group's market leading position," said Chief Executive Russell Atkinson.
"The second half has started positively. The group remains highly cash generative, has a strong balance sheet and we are well positioned to take advantage of opportunities for further growth across a fragmented legal services market," Atkinson added.
Shares in NAHL were up 3.2% to 346.90 pence on Wednesday.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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