September 10, 2025 • Insight
PPHC announces unaudited interim results for the first half of 2025
Strong organic growth reinforced by strategic M&A to deliver record revenue and EBITDA
Public Policy Holding Company, Inc., (“PPHC”, the “Company” or the “Group”),a leading global strategic communications provider, offering a comprehensive range of advisory services in the areas of Government Relations, Public Affairs, and Corporate Communications, today announces its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2025 (“H1 2025” or the “Period”).
Financial Highlights
- H1 revenue increased by 23.6% to $87.9m (H1 2024: $71.1m), with organic growth contributing 7.6% and the balance driven by three acquisitions made in 2024 and 2025.
- Record adjusted EBITDA1 of $21.4m, up 14.1%, achieved at a 24.4% margin.
- Adjusted Net Income of $15.6m was up 19.9% (H1 2024: $13.0m) with an increase in finance costs offset by a more favourable effective tax rate.
- Adjusted fully diluted EPS of $0.12 was up 13.0%, with fully diluted share count increasing by 6% (basic sharecount by 4%).
- The Group’s balance sheet remains robust with free cash flow of $11.7m (H1 2024: $5.8m), allowing for continued progress against stated strategic goals via organic investment and earnings accretive M&A.
- Net Debt of $42.2m (H1 2024: $28.3m) reflects a prudent leverage ratio and the allocation of $24.0m to fund the earnings accretive acquisition of TrailRunner in H1 2025.
- The Board retains strong confidence in the Group’s outlook and has declared an interim dividend of $0.023 per Common Outstanding Share, in line with the revised dividend policy announced in January 2025.
| All in $’000, unless otherwise noted | |||||||
| H1 2025 | H1 2024 | $ Change | % Change | ||||
| Group Revenue | 87,899 | 71,134 | 16,765 | 23.6% | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 21,446 | 18,798 | 2,648 | 14.1% | |||
| Adjusted EBITDA margin | 24.4% | 26.4% | N/A | (2.0)pts | |||
| Adjusted Net Income | 15,551 | 12,971 | 2,580 | 19.9% | |||
| Adjusted EPS fully diluted | $0.12 | $0.11 | $0.01 | 13.0% | |||
| Dividend paid, per share | $0.05 | $0.10 | $(0.05) | (51.5)% | |||
| Net Debt at period-end | (42,226) | (28,294) | (13,932) | 49.2% | |||
- Significant progress in line with the Group’s stated growth strategy, with earnings accretive acquisitions providing an enhanced complementary range of services to the Group’s international client base:
- Organically, the Group recorded 7.6% growth in revenue which represents a significant step-up from the 2.7% growth in FY 2024 and the 2.0% in FY 2023, supported by a strong rebound in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs
- Acquisition of TrailRunner significantly expands the Group’s capabilities in Corporate Communications – which includes crisis and reputation management, financial, and legal communication – providing significant revenue opportunities via referrals and joint business in conjunction with the pre-existing Group.
- TrailRunner is headquartered in the fast-growing state of Texas (recognised as the 8th largest economy in the world), and has additional offices in New York, Northern California, Nashville, UK, UAE, and China. Back-office integration has completed.
- Post-period, the Group also announced the acquisition of Pine Cove Strategies, a premier Texas-based strategic consulting firm, adding to the Group’s state government relations capabilities.
- Revenue remained highly diversified with the top 10 Group clients representing 9.4% of revenue in H1 2025 versus 8.7% at the end of FY 2024 and 10.8% for FY 2023.
- By segment:
- Government Relations grew at 6.2% (4.1% organically).
- Corporate Communications & Public Affairs (formerly: Public Affairs) increased by 81.2% (14.7% organically), benefiting from the rebound in demand for communication services following the conclusion of the 2024 US elections.
- Compliance and Insights Services (formerly: Diversified Services) continued its strong growth at 19.2% (reported and organic).
- Overall, we made significant progress on our strategy to diversify our revenue mix, with complementary service offerings, with Corporate Communications & Public Affairs increasing strongly to 32.0% of revenue (H1 2024: 21.8%) and Government Relations now representing 60.8% (H1 2024: 70.8%). Compliance and Insights Services marginally decreased to 7.1% (H1 2024: 7.4%).
- An expansive client base of c.1,300 Group clients is supported by sustained high retention rates, with the Group directly representing approximately half of the Fortune 100 and a quarter of the Fortune 500, in addition to many more via trade associations.
- The quality of PPHC’s operating companies in Federal Government Relations continues to be reflected in the H1 2025 Lobbying Disclosure Act (“LDA”) rankings, with Group agencies, when aggregated, topping the rankings for the period.
Stewart Hall, CEO of PPHC, commented:
“We have made continued progress in H1 2025, with significantly higher organic revenue growth of 8% and earnings accretive acquisitions delivering a strong financial performance. As anticipated, we have seen increased demand for our services following the conclusion of 2024 U.S. elections, in particular in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, with our teams delivering critical work for our clients across multiple geographies.
“Following recent acquisitions, PPHC is now firmly established as a leading global strategic communications company and we are well placed to deliver continued growth in line with our stated strategy.
“With strong momentum across all of our service lines and a robust pipeline of potential acquisition opportunities, we are confident in our outlook and ability to continue delivering meaningful returns to our shareholders.”
1 EBITDA definition adjusted from prior reporting to exclude M&A costs.