Facilitated by its $150m (£113m) acquisition of talent management platform PeopleFluent – which completed last June – Learning Technologies (LTG) has been shifting towards a software licence model. Accordingly, recurring revenues for 2018 constituted 68 per cent of the top line, against just 38 per cent a year earlier. The deal also bolstered LTG’s US presence, with more than half of sales now derived from across the pond.
The integration of PeopleFluent aided the performance of LTG’s software and platforms division, which comprised 64 per cent of total revenues. The division also benefited from the purchase of the remaining 73 per cent of Watershed – a Nashville-based learning analytics business. Acquisitions aside, software still generated 9 per cent organic growth.
Content and services fared less well, with organic revenues down 8 per cent to £23.5m, although the division faced a tough comparative after a “particularly strong” 2017. Most projects here are non-recurring, limiting predictability. But the group says fourth-quarter and first-quarter 2019 sales have been “encouraging”.
House broker Numis expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £32.8m and EPS of 3.8p for 2019, against £25.6m and 3.2p in 2018.
| LEARNING TECHNOLOGIES (LTG) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 74p | MARKET VALUE: | £493m | |
| TOUCH: | 73.8-74p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 167p | LOW: 59p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 0.7% | PE RATIO: | 113 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 25p* | NET DEBT: | 7% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014 | 14.9 | -0.10 | -0.10 | 0.1 |
| 2015 | 19.9 | 1.20 | 0.30 | 0.15 |
| 2016 | 28.3 | -1.20 | -0.30 | 0.21 |
| 2017 (restated)** | 51.4 | -0.01 | 0.24 | 0.30 |
| 2018 | 93.9 | 3.44 | 0.66 | 0.50 |
| % change | +83 | - | +179 | +67 |
| Ex-div: | 6 Jun | |||
| Payment: | 28 Jun | |||
*Includes intangible assets of £242m, or 36p a share **2017 numbers restated to reflect adoption of new accounting rules | ||||
