Tribal Grp. Regulatory News (TRB)

28 October 2020

Tribal Group plc

("Tribal" or "the Group")

Trading Update and Dividend Reinstatement

Tribal (AIM: TRB), a leading provider of software and services to the international education market, today provides an update on trading for the year ending 31 December 2020 ("the Year") and information regarding the reinstatement of the dividend.

The Group has performed well in the second half of the Year to date. Despite sales cycles being protracted as a result of the pandemic, the Group has recently announced two contract wins, with universities in the UK and Australia, and contract implementations continue to progress well. As a result of the uplift in revenue from the two new contracts, the ongoing benefit of cost reduction measures introduced at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the increased efficiency of the remote delivery of Professional Services and Education Services, and the strength of the Group's recurring revenue model, the Board now anticipates reporting profits for the Year comfortably ahead of current market expectations(1), at approximately £14.8m adjusted EBITDA(2) and £11.5m adjusted EBITA. Total revenue is expected to be in the region of £72m. Annual Recurring Revenue has increased to £44.5m.

The Group retains a strong balance sheet, with a net cash position as at 23 October 2020 of £11.2m. The positive trading has enabled the Group to repay all furlough benefits received (approximately £80k) and all temporary tax deferrals.

The Board believes it is appropriate to reinstate a dividend and has resolved to pay an interim dividend of 1.1 pence per share, being the same level as that paid in 2019. The dividend is expected be paid on 8 December 2020 to shareholders on the register as of 6 November 2020.

Mark Pickett, CEO of Tribal Group, commented: "During the third quarter, we have continued to make positive progress against our strategic objectives, winning new customers, retaining and growing our existing customers, while investing in the transition of our offerings to the cloud. The has resulted in a good trading performance and Annual Recurring Revenue has increased to £44.5m, due to continued focus on SaaS and Tribal:Cloud sales.

"We are pleased to have paid back all government support received during the COVID-19 period and to reinstate our dividend. I would like to thank all of our team for their continued hard work and commitment to Tribal and our customers through this difficult time.

"Our priorities for the remainder of 2020 are to continue to protect the business from the impact of COVID-19, win new customers, retain and grow existing customer relationships, and deliver on the Tribal Edge strategy.

"Never has the need for cloud-based solutions for the Education market been more pressing. The investments we have made position us at the forefront of this evolution in our industry, providing for an exciting future for Tribal."

(1) In so far as the Board is aware, prior to this announcement, market expectations for the year ending 31 December 2020 were for revenue of £72.1m, adjusted EBITDA of £13.7m and adjusted EBITA of £10.5m.

(2)  Adjusted EBITDA is in respect of continuing operations excluding restructuring costs, share based payments and amortisation of acquired (IFRS3) intangibles. 

About Tribal Group plc

Tribal Group plc is a pioneering world-leader of education software and services. Its portfolio includes Student Information Systems; a broad range of education services covering quality assurance, peer review, benchmarking and improvement; and student surveys that provide the leading global benchmarks for student experience. Working with Higher Education, Further and Tertiary Education, schools, Government and State bodies, training providers and employers, in over 55 countries; Tribal Group's mission is to empower the world of education with products and services that underpin student success.

This Statement has been prepared for and is addressed only to our shareholders as a whole and should not be relied on by any other party or for any other purpose. Tribal, its directors, employees, agents or advisers do not accept or assume responsibility to any other person to whom this Statement is shown or into whose hands it may come and any such responsibility or liability is expressly disclaimed. This Statement may contain forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement has been made by the directors in good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of approval of this Statement and should be treated with caution due to the inherent uncertainties, including both economic and business risk factors, underlying such forward-looking information. To the extent that this Statement contains any statement dealing with any time after the date of its preparation, such statement is merely predictive and speculative as it relates to events and circumstances which are yet to occur and therefore the facts stated and views expressed may change. Tribal undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.