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(Sharecast News) - Public Policy Holding Company reported strong revenue growth and record adjusted earnings for 2025 on Tuesday, supported by organic expansion and acquisitions, while also securing a US listing and subsequent inclusion in major equity indices.
The AIM-traded strategic communications group reported revenue of $186.5m for the year ended 31 December, up 24.7% with organic growth contributing 6.2%.
Adjusted EBITDA rose 17.7% to a record $45.4m, with a margin of 24.3%, while adjusted net income increased 32.1% to $36.6m.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share rose 24.7% to $1.39.
On a statutory basis, the group reported a net loss of $39.0m, compared with a loss of $24.0m in 2024, while net cash generated from operations increased to $24.8m from $16.4m.
Adjusted free cash flow rose to $36.9m from $22.2m.
The company declared a final dividend of 24cents per share, taking the full-year payout to 35.5cents per share.
Fourth-quarter performance accelerated, with revenue rising 27.8% to $49.9m and adjusted EBITDA increasing 27.1% to $12.4m, although the group recorded a GAAP net loss of $15.2m.
The group said growth was driven by a rebound in corporate communications and public affairs, alongside continued expansion in compliance and insights services.
Government relations consulting revenue increased 5.9% over the year, while corporate communications and public affairs revenue rose 78.7%, including 8.9% organic growth.
Compliance and insights services grew 21.5%.
PPHC also continued to expand through acquisitions, completing the purchases of TrailRunner and Pine Cove Capital during the year, broadening its service offering and geographic reach.
It said its client base increased to around 1,400, including approximately half of the Fortune 100, with 613 clients spending more than $100,000 annually, up from 503 in 2024.
The group completed a $45.8m US initial public offering and dual listing on Nasdaq in January, strengthening its balance sheet, with net debt of $26.6m at year-end reverting to a net cash position in 2026.
"The company's performance in 2025 was strong, with a marked uptick in organic growth supplemented by our well-established merger and acquisition programme," said chief executive Stewart Hall.
"We have built a diversified platform of high quality businesses that operate across the political spectrum, giving us broad-based resilience and the ability to drive organic revenue growth and achieve attractive margins in a volatile operating landscape."
He added that demand remained robust in a "fast-moving and complex policy landscape", with clients increasingly seeking integrated advisory support.
Separately, the company said it had been added to the Russell 2000 and Russell 3000 indices as of 23 March, shortly after its Nasdaq listing.
"Our inclusion in the Russell indexes aligns PPHC's capital markets profile with the US market where we primarily operate and serve clients," Hall said.
"Following our Nasdaq listing in January, addition to these widely tracked benchmarks broadens our exposure to institutional investors and index-linked capital, and we expect it to contribute to improved trading liquidity over time."
Looking ahead, the company said it expected to continue delivering organic revenue growth of around 5%, supported by acquisitions, with adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 25%, while continuing to invest in technology and public company infrastructure.
At 1238 GMT, shares in Public Policy Holding Company were down 7.37% at 880p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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