Wilmington says FY trading ahead of expectations

Wilmington said on Tuesday that it ended the year ahead of expectations in terms of revenue, adjusted pre-tax profit and net debt.

In an update ahead of its annual results in September, the company said FY adjusted profits are ahead of FY20 as it benefitted from the swift digitisation of its products and services at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, strong revenues, tight control of overheads and actions taken to reduce less profitable lines of business.

Wilmington said trading in both the Information & Data, and Training & Education divisions was strong in the second half, resulting in group revenue for the year being unchanged despite a lack of face-to-face training or events. Meanwhile, revenues excluding events were up year-on-year in both divisions.

Wilmington also said cash flows have been "notably strong", with group net debt at 30 June down to £17.7m from £27.7m in 2020.

Chief executive officer Mark Milner said: "This robust performance, despite the pandemic which resulted in all our products needing to be delivered digitally, reflects the restructuring and repositioning that we executed over the last year or so and our leading market positions.

"Importantly, cash flow was also strong, which has enabled us to continue to invest in new products, reduce debt, repay the UK furlough support and resume paying dividends."