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(Sharecast News) - GlobalData reported double-digit full-year revenue growth on Monday, underpinned by acquisitions and rising adoption of its AI-enabled products, as the group prepared to move to London's Main Market this week.
For the year ended 31 December, total revenue increased 13% to 322.1m from 285.5m, although underlying revenue growth was 1% as macroeconomic headwinds and organisational restructuring weighed on performance.
Adjusted EBITDA declined 6% to 110.2m, with margin reducing to 34% from 41%, reflecting investment in its growth transformation plan and the initial integration impact of six acquisitions.
Operating profit rose 25% to 81.2m, while profit before tax increased 26% to 69.2m, including a 20.5m credit relating to share-based payments.
Earnings per share rose 16% to 4.4p, with adjusted EPS up 43% to 7.3p.
The AIM-traded firm's board proposed a final dividend of 1.2p, up 20%, taking total dividends for the year to 1.5p.
Contracted forward revenue rose 5% to 179.7m, or 3% on an underlying basis, providing what the company described as around 80% visibility over analyst revenue consensus for 2026.
Operating cash flow remained robust at 83.3m, despite acquisition and restructuring costs. Net bank debt stood at 114.2m at year end, compared with net cash of 10.1m in 2024, reflecting merger and acquisition activity and capital returns.
The group completed two further acquisitions during the year, strengthening its consumer and innovation capabilities, and returned more than 100m to shareholders through buybacks, alongside an 11m contribution to its employee benefit trust.
GlobalData said its AI Hub was now embedded across its customer base, with 90% of customers contracted to an AI Hub-enabled product.
Usage more than doubled in the first half to over 100,000 users, with a threefold increase in active users as AI functionality was integrated across the platform.
"2025 has been a year of resilient performance for GlobalData, in a business environment that remains uncertain," said chief executive Mike Danson.
"We have continued to successfully embed our solutions-led sales model, and while the reorganisation is taking time to fully implement, it is already strengthening customer engagement, improving collaboration across teams, and building a quality pipeline."
He added that the company had seen "rapid adoption" of the AI Hub by more than 90% of customers.
"Our proprietary data and expert insights are mission-critical to our customers' decision-making in fast evolving marketplaces, reinforcing the need for real time, trusted intelligence."
Admission to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange was expected at 0800 GMT on 5 March.
The board said it had a "clear line of sight" to margin recovery towards 40% over the medium term as integration activity completed and incremental revenue flowed through at higher margins.
At 1205 GMT, shares in GlobalData were down 0.22% at 84.21p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.