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21 November 2023
Capita plc (Capita) implementing significant cost reduction programme
In its Half Year Results, Capita outlined that its medium-term target to double its operating margin to 6% was underpinned by cost savings of £40m per annum on an annualised basis by the end of 2024. Based on an extensive organisational review, the Group will shortly commence employee consultation programmes which are expected to deliver cost savings of £60m on an annualised basis from Q1 2024. The organisational changes proposed primarily impact indirect support function and overhead roles which mean that approximately 900 roles are at risk of redundancy. We expect to recognise exceptional costs in respect of this programme in the order of £27m in the income statement for the year ending 31 December 2023 with the cash impact expected to fall into Q1 2024.
The group continues to trade in line with its expectations, delivering positive operational and financial performance and has won contracts with a total contract value (TCV) of £2.85bn year to date (2022 full year TCV: £2.59bn).
The Group will make a pre-close statement on 14 December 2023 and the Full Year Results announcement is planned for 6 March 2024.
Jon Lewis, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are, today, announcing the accelerated delivery of the efficiency savings announced in our Half Year Results with a £20m increase in overhead cost reduction to £60m on an annualised basis from Q1 2024.
As part of the organisational review which underpins the programme we are announcing today, we continue to identify further areas of cost efficiency and will pursue these during 2024.”
Microsoft claims:
"Partners that derive at least 75% of their revenue from their Microsoft-related activities have the highest profitability, with an average gross margin of 30%."
You take £1 billion and divert 30% to your back pocket and you can buy Capita.
That is how insane today's valuation is.
By the way AI works on the basis of big data. The more inputs you have to the model the faster it gets trained and the more reliable it is.
So we have got Microsoft AI and we've got a hell of a lot of data in the world's most critical sector: public services.
Explosive value to the upside.
Thanks Trisor. Capita is the ultimate Warren Buffett moat company. It's position is exceptionally well defended because it's almost impossible for newcomers to sell to government.
We have had however many years of going woke and broke at Capita and the public sector. That has very definitely come to an end.
I admit that JL has been a great success on an adjusted basis. Now all in the past.
We have a business focused new leader at a time of huge public sector demand, necessary staff right-sizing, and cost-implosion on the private sector supply side.
No one apart from Serco can compete in the UK, a country with one of the strongest soft power values in the world which speaks English and has access to deep capital markets.
I like all those points Sharehead but they are all supply side. It's all great, but the thing that I find exceptionally positive is the demand side. All western governments desperately need Capita-style services today just when AI (Microsoft) is making the gulf between the cost of a work from home civil servant and a bot embarrassingly wide.
Capita to be fair to them had absolutely zero credibility as a result of not only the hack but their handling of it. We have to give JL credit for sacking himself eventually and giving us a chance with Adolfo.
We now have credibility and where that is credibility there is gold, surely?
If I ever get married again JL won't be there to pass me the cake knife because I don't want to get distracted, BUT, if you specify Capita now you are getting unrivaled experience and scale in government IT and customer handling... With global strength, software, experience and hosting by Microsoft; led by the former vice president of Amazon Web services who has a successful record in other companies.
This multi hundred million £ deal is 1% of turnover. Yet the company is still almost free. My friend's Norfolk farming estate is worth about £100 million. So you could swap three farms pulling in almost nothing for Capita.
Then there is the opportunity for international expansion.
I am a total outsider to valuing companies but it looks good to me. Can anyone other than Spam master tell me what is not to like?
Good to see Capita's partner Microsoft hire the former CEO of OpenAI today. The committed to giving him the resources necessary to deliver AI benefits to clients.
Excellent partnership by Capita. They do the client stuff Microsoft does the back end.
The share price crashed due to a collapse in credibility.
I cannot see how you can have more credibility than to be awarded the contract to manage civil service pensions.
Excellent to see the nod to AI delivered by Capita. That is what we want. Every other financial news article is about the UK government desperately looking for AI solutions to public sector cost.
I haven't posted for a year with all the massive loss of value here but I have to make one plea:
Is this geezer called Alfonso or the rather more unlikely Adolfo?
The lack of agreement on this issue freaks me out.
Capita plc
Half Year Results 2023
Summary
• Acceleration in financial performance
• Good growth momentum; minimal impact from cyber incident
• Consistently strong delivery of operational KPIs
• Improved employee engagement; reduced employee attrition
• Funding position transformed with RCF extension, USPP and disposal programme close to completion
• Foundations for sustainable long term growth further strengthened
H1 2023 Financial results
• Adjusted revenue1 increased by 6% to £1,402.4m (H1 2022: £1,326.0m) with growth in underlying trading and one-off benefits in Experience from Virgin Media O2 contract transition and a commercial settlement
• Adjusted profit before tax1 increased by £8.4m to £33.1m (H1 2022: £24.7m)
• Reported loss before tax of £67.9m (H1 2022 profit: £0.1m) due to business exits, non-core Portfolio goodwill impairment and costs associated with the Group's cyber incident
• Free cash outflow excluding business exits2* of £53.4m (H1 2022 outflow: £16.5m) reflecting increased working capital, the cyber incident and increased digital investment
• Post-IFRS 16 net debt reduced by £165.8m to £544.6m (30 June 2022: £710.4m) driven by Portfolio disposal programme and continued rationalisation of leased property estate
Growth momentum
• Total contract value (TCV) won of £1,357m (H1 2022: £1,413m); book to bill maintained at 1.0x
• Secured £250m TCV on Disabled Students Allowance framework with Student Loans Company in July
• Preferred bidder on £565m TCV in Public Service for Functional Assessment Services with Department for Work and Pensions, expected to be signed in the second half of 2023
• TCV awarded at 31 July, £2.2bn; up 54%
• In year revenue increased 22% to £650m (H1 2022: £534m), strong performance in Experience
Transformed funding position
• RCF of £280m extended to 31 December 2026
• Issuance of £101.9m of USPP in July
• Continued progress on non-core business disposal programme
◦ Completion of People pillar disposal in H1 23
◦ Completion of Software and Business Solutions disposals in July, c.£45m net proceeds received
Outlook
• Full-year expectations remain unchanged
• On track to deliver acceleration in financial performance in 2023
• Target to double the Group EBIT margin over the medium term, underpinned by £40m cost savings by the end of 2024
Jon Lewis, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“I am pleased with the good progress we continued to make at Capita during the first half of the year as we accelerate our financial performance.
“Our strategy, focused on two core, growing markets is working. We have delivered increased adj
I am very surprised that the new CEO has been monstered because he seems to be very appropriate as part of the switch to digital. Some commentators have moaned that capita is behind in this area yet when they hire a CEO to address the issue he is criticized for not having a traditional call centre background.
I think that politics gives everyone a free hit on capita which will turn around when something exciting happens in relation to improving public services. The sadness is that a turnaround of that kind could be two or three years away.
Yes it would be good to hear Adolpho's views. The problem with the current regime is that they have gone a bit overboard on the socially useful organization approach. Shareholders are treated as Nigel Farage types while executives are richly rewarded.