LONDON (Alliance News) - Sanne Group PLC said on Friday profit rose in 2018 due to robust growth from its Alternatives business, as well as new business wins.
The alternative asset and corporate services provider posted a pretax profit of GBP23.7 million for 2018, up 5.8% from GBP22.4 million the year before.
Revenue totalled GBP143.0 million, up 26% from GBP113.2 million in 2017 including 52% revenue growth from its Europe, Middle East & Africa Alternatives segment to GBP71.8 million from GBP46.8 million.
New business wins in the year came to GBP24.5 million versus GBP20.9 million in 2017.
The company has declared a final dividend of 9.2p per share, taking the total dividend for the year up 9.5% to 13.8p per share from 12.6p per share.
The company's underlying operating profit margin fell to 31.1% in 2018 from 34.3%, but Sanne expects this to improve in 2019.
The company is also reviewing potential acquisitions and said it has a "healthy pipeline of opportunities".
A "strong performance" overall is expected in 2019 and Sanne is confident of its medium and long-term prospects.
Chief Executive Dean Godwin said: "2018 was a significant year of growth and evolution for Sanne. Our core businesses continued to perform strongly, particularly in EMEA and the US, and we are encouraged to see the momentum building in Asia-Pacific Mauritius.
"Importantly, Sanne is now a business with a truly global platform and with a growing presence in the world's most attractive regions."
Martin Schnaier, who was appointed CEO designate in January and will take over in May, said: "We are excited about the opportunities in our markets and are confident that the investments we have been making in our platform will further strengthen our competitive advantage and scale our business in the years ahead. These investments, and the strong momentum we are seeing in our business, give us confidence in our prospects and ambitious growth expectations."
Shares in Sanne were up 0.2% at 505 pence on Friday morning.
