The Ardonagh Group has announced its financial results for the 12 months ending 31 December 2023. The news is good, with income up by a third, plus some acquisitions completed last year too. Here are the highlights;
Financial highlights
- Pro forma income of $1.9 billion and Pro forma Adjusted EBITDA of $695 million, including completed and committed acquisitions to 20 March 2024, together with annualised growth and savings initiatives, excluding Ardonagh Retail.
- Reported income rose by 33.5% to $1.6 billion and reported Adjusted EBITDA by 42.5% to $522 million, excluding Ardonagh Retail which is due to be merged with Markerstudy.
- Reported Adjusted EBITDA margin growth of 200bps from 30.3% to 32.3% driven by 11% organic growth and continued delivery of synergy initiatives.
- Successful refinancing of group borrowings completed February 2024. Run-rate cash interest costs reduced by 29%, significantly increased available liquidity (including undrawn CAR facilities of $573 million) and maturities extended to 2031.
- Total Net Leverage of 5.6x and Senior Secured Net Leverage of 4.0x pro forma for the pending divestiture of Ardonagh Retail and the completed refinancing.
Group highlights
- Increased inorganic growth momentum, with 67 deals completed in 2023. This included Envest in Australia (February), Klap in the Netherlands (June), SRS in Greece (June) and Assepro in Switzerland (November) and add-on deals.
- Agreed merger of Ardonagh Retail with Markerstudy in September 2023, valuing it at $1.5 billion, subject to regulatory approvals. The UK Competitions and Market Authority cleared the deal on 26 March 2024.
- Ardonagh welcomed 1,698 people from acquisitions and new hires last year, including our first graduate scheme cohort.
- In 2023, Ardonagh filed its first disclosure under the United Nations Principles for Sustainable Insurance and today publishes its 2023 Sustainability Report.
COMMENT
Group Chief Executive Officer David Ross commented: “These results reflect a very strong year for our Group as we stepped up the pace of our focused global expansion and continue to benefit from investment in organic initiatives. We spent the first five years as a Group investing in assets that can themselves make add-on acquisitions, and harness the opportunities that come with being proudly part of a portfolio of independent specialists with powerful scale.
“2023 was a record year for M&A with 67 acquisitions completed adding $101m of Pro Forma Adjusted EBITDA to the Group, with over 80% of M&A investment made in Europe and Australia. We welcomed four regional leaders during the year across Australia, the Netherlands, Greece and Switzerland, and most recently entered the Italian market with the agreement to acquire Mediass.
“Ardonagh received strong support from multi-currency public and private lending markets during the group’s refinancing at the beginning of 2024. To have completed an over-subscribed offer of this magnitude is a huge vote of confidence in the company, and an excellent outcome to continue to support our expansive strategy into 2024 and beyond.”
Group Chairman John Tiner commented: “Having celebrated The Ardonagh Group’s fifth anniversary in 2022, this past year has witnessed a step change in the Group’s development. With the expansion of the business our footprint has changed dramatically, with now almost 70% of revenues coming from outside the UK. As the integration work progresses, the Board continues to promote our role as a company to serve and benefit all our stakeholders, including colleagues, clients, business partners, shareholders and the communities in which we operate.
“Ardonagh’s people continue to do amazing work for their clients and their communities, with over $900,000 donated in 2023 to hundreds of charities connected to our people.
“2023 was a record year in many ways, yet I am convinced that in 2024 The Ardonagh Group will continue to build on the momentum created, surpassing expectations and delivering high quality growth and sustainable outcomes for our stakeholders.”
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