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22 Sep 2022
Wilmington PLC : Hitting all the right notes - Buy

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Wilmington PLC : Hitting all the right notes - Buy
Wilmington plc (WIL:LON) | 345 24.2 2.1% | Mkt Cap: 308.0m
- Published:
22 Sep 2022 -
Author:
Alastair Reid | Jennifer Bett -
Pages:
6 -
Robust FY results: Wilmington has released another set of robust results – reporting organic growth of 13%, with both the Intelligence (formally Information and Data) and Training & Education divisions delivering double-digit organic growth and improved profitability. Group revenue was £121.0m, in line with expectations, with growth driven by the successful digitalisation programme, new product investment and the return of face-to-face events (growth ex events was 5%). Recurring revenue also now accounts for 37% of total revenue. Adj. PBT was up 38% versus FY21 at £20.7m (a margin of 17.1%), modestly ahead of our forecast.
Structural growth levers: Previous investments in technology & data are continuing to accelerate the Group’s growth ambitions. The implementation of the new single platforms in each division will allow Wilmington to expand its offering by creating a scalable portfolio to service the growing GRC market, with easier cross-selling and an improved overall customer experience. The company is seeing good demand in the current financial year across both divisions, with both revenue and profitability in-line with expectations – we believe demand should remain resilient and that pricing power can offset staff cost inflation.
Still fundamentally mis-priced: On forecasts, we increase PBT by 4-5% from FY23E onwards. Despite some re-rating in recent months, we believe Wilmington remains fundamentally the wrong price - it currently trades at just c.12x CY24E earnings (or c.7x EBITDA), below aspirational peers like GlobalData, RELX & Wolters Kluwer at 18-21x and the recent PE bid for Euromoney at 17x. With direct competitors also having been acquired at much higher multiples recently, if public markets do not apply a higher value to Wilmington, we see scope for private investors to instead.