NEWS & INSIGHTS

April 21, 2023Insight    Investor    

PPHC Announces Full Year Results for 2022

Full Year Results for the year ended 31 December 2022

Strong financial performance and sustained growth, driven by robust market demand.

Public Policy Holding Company, Inc., (“PPHC”, the “Group” or the “Company”), the government relations and public affairs group providing clients with a fully integrated and comprehensive range of services, is pleased to announce its Full Year Results for the year ended 31 December 2022.

Financial Highlights:

  • Revenue of $108.8m (2021: $99.3m) reflects an increase of 9.5%, and 6.6% organic growth.
  • Underlying EBITDA of $31.2m (2021: $32.0m) is in line with guidance and was achieved at a margin of 28.7%, within our target range of 25 to 30%. This followed a truly exceptional 2021 which was driven by a combination of high pandemic-related spending and the change of control in the White House
  • Underlying Profit after tax was $23.3m (2021: $23.9m), reflecting a margin of 21.4%
  • Year-end Net Cash stood at $21.0 million, an increase of 17.9%
  • Declared a final dividend of $0.095 per Common Outstanding Share. This would take the total dividend for 2022 to $0.14 per share.

Operational Highlights:

  • Successful acquisition of California based KP Public Affairs on 1 October 2022, proving attractiveness of holding company value proposition and equity + cash offer.
  • Key talent additions into Group’s founding firms, including deepening specialisations in new/renewable energy policy, defence contracting, financial services, and trade policy, all service areas that are central to today’s policy agenda.
  • Improved client diversification, with the top 10 Group clients representing 9.6% of total revenue, down from 13.1% in 2021.
  • 2022 total clients greater than 850, up from over 730 in 2021; includes over 100 Fortune 500 clients and related trade associations.
  • Number of clients spending $100,000 or greater per year was 384, a gain of 11%, and representing 43% of our total clients.

Current Trading and Outlook:

  • MultiState Associates acquired on 1 March 2023, elevating our number of clients to over 1,000.
  • Continued growth into 2023, fuelled by ongoing policy debates over government spending and the passage of historic spending measures in 2021-22 into sectors such as healthcare, essential manufacturing, renewable/alternative energies, and infrastructure.
  • Management expects revenue to grow by 5 to 10% organically, supplemented by growth from past and future M&A transactions.
  • The Group continues to manage the business such that the Underlying EBITDA as percentage of revenue is estimated to be between 25% and 30%.
  • Continuing to build an attractive pipeline of strategic acquisition opportunities in the federal and state advocacy markets, as well as in the adjacent strategic communications and public affairs markets in the US and abroad.

“PPHC is well placed to deliver continued growth, both organically and via acquisitions. We have already completed the acquisition of MultiState, expanding our service offering and opening new opportunities for collaboration between our operating businesses. We look forward to continued strategic and financial progress in 2023.”

-Stewart Hall, CEO

Read the full report here.