(Alliance News) - Inspired Energy PLC on Tuesday said its profit climbed in 2019 with significant growth from its Corporate division thanks to acquisitions.
Shares in Inspired were down 5.2% at 16.36 pence in London.
Energy procurement consultant Inspired reported a GBP4.8 million pretax profit for 2019, up 14% from GBP4.2 million the year before.
Revenue climbed 51% to GBP49.3 million from GBP32.7 million, causing profit to rise. This growth in revenue was driven by Inspire's Corporate division, which represented 89% of 2019 revenue and achieved 60% revenue growth. Of this, 7% was organic and the rest was from acquisitions.
Inspired's acquisitions included Waterwatch UK Ltd for a GBP500,000 and Independent Utilities Ltd for GBP2.0 million. Inspired also made a strategic investment of GBP5 million to acquire 40% of Ignite's share capital, pus another GBP3.0 million contingent payment post 2019 year-end. Inspired has the exclusive option to acquire the other 60% interest in Ignite.
The company has opted to defer its final dividend, which will be reassessed alongside its 2020 interim results.
Until late March, Inspired had been mostly unaffected by the Covid-19 pandemic and its first-quarter performance met board expectations. Since then, while operational disruption has grown more significant, Inspired has managed to operate continuously and has benefited from its "significant contracted income".
"Swift and effective action has been taken to manage costs and preserve cash flow with the result that the group has remained both strongly cash generative and delivered profits significantly ahead of the downside scenario during April. Whilst the impact in the SME market (11% of FY2019 group revenues) has been more significant and visibility is still limited, the board has been encouraged by an initial uptick in activity levels during May," said Inspired.
Chief Executive Mark Dickinson said: "Whilst we are undoubtedly in a period of economic uncertainty, the board believes that the group's profitable and cash generative nature coupled with a strong order book and substantial liquidity at its disposal, will see it well placed as the economy emerges from the current period of uncertainty."
Dickinson added: "The additional flexibility provided by the extension of our banking covenants ensures that the group does not have to undertake any permanent restructuring actions which could prejudice the effective implementation of our strategic growth plan as envisaged prior to the Covid-19 crisis and which we expect to resume unfettered, save for delay, once conditions allow."
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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