Record performance driven by strong organic revenue growth and M&A execution across all four business segments.

Resilient outlook; full year performance anticipated to be in line with management expectations.

We are pleased to announce our final results for the year ended 31 January 2023.

Financial and Operational Highlights:

• Group net revenue growth of 56% to £563.8m and statutory revenue growth of 53%, aided by acquisitions
• Organic net revenue growth of 20.7% with strong growth across all segments
• Adjusted profit before tax up 42% to £112.5m
• Statutory operating profit up 68% to £67.2m
• Adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 35% to 80.4p
• Final dividend of 10.1p per share, representing an increase of 20%
• Strong balance sheet with net cash of £26.1m at 31 January 2023
• Significant new client wins and expanded assignments with Morrisons, BiC and Mercedes-Benz
• Completed seven acquisitions, including the acquisition of Engine Acquisition Limited (“Engine”) in March 2022 for consideration of £67.3m, which has since been successfully integrated into the Group
• Mach49 entered into a five-year strategic alliance with a global technology and digital company, total fees over the initial life of the contract expected to be in excess of $400m

The new financial year has started well with performance year to date in line with management expectations.

Performance continues to be robust across all four business segments; underpinned by the significant Mach49 contract win in early 2022, the acquisition of Engine in March 2022 and other new client wins, such as Morrisons for Shopper Media Group (“SMG”), giving us confidence for further growth in the year ahead. Whilst we are mindful of the current economic and geopolitical backdrop, given the strength of our business we remain confident in meeting management expectations for the full year.

The Group’s strong liquidity position provides scope for further investments both in the businesses and in M&A to accelerate our longer-term growth.

Commenting on the results, Chair of Next 15, Penny Ladkin-Brand said:

“Last year we dramatically stepped up our growth by combining organic wins with the successful execution of strategic M&A. We completed our largest ever acquisition in Engine and saw significant organic revenue growth across the business leading to a record performance for the Group. The Board will continue its disciplined approach when evaluating the Group’s portfolio and remains confident in Next 15’s ability to continue its trajectory this year. Against the backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty, we believe our agile structure and entrepreneurial mindset will serve to deliver growth opportunities for our people, customers and shareholders alike.”

Tim Dyson, CEO of Next 15, said:

“This year has seen a very strong performance with all four pillars of our business delivering strong levels of organic revenue growth. Our US operations have shown exceptional growth with the region now representing 52% of our total net revenues. We have also benefitted from a significant contract win by Mach49 at the start of the year and the acquisition of Engine which has been successfully integrated into our Group and is now making a very positive contribution to the Group’s trading.

“Looking ahead, our positive trading has continued into our new financial year with good levels of activity across all four parts of the business. We have continued to see strong levels of spend from all of our major customers. In addition, our work with the public sector has remained strong and is anticipated to grow in the current year. We therefore expect our results for the full year to be in line with management expectations.”

Name change

As announced on 18 April 2023, the Group has officially changed its name to Next 15 Group plc (ticker: NFG). This reflects that the Group no longer derives the bulk of its work from marketing communications having evolved into a tech and data-driven growth consultancy.

Webcast for analysts and investors

Next 15 will host an analyst and investor webcast at 9:30 today, Tuesday 25 April 2023. To access the webinar, please contact next15@mhpgroup.com.