GlobalData plc Full Year Results

Profitable growth and strong foundations embedded to execute Growth Transformation Plan

GlobalData Plc (AIM: DATA, GlobalData, the Group), data, insight, and technology company, today publishes its results for the year ended 31 December 2024 (FY24).

• Results in line with market expectations.
• Total revenue growth of 5% to £285.5m (FY23: £273.1m), underlying revenue growth of 4%.
• Continued growth in Adjusted EBITDA (+5%), maintained margin at 41%.
• Profit before tax grew by £13.4m to £54.9m (2023: £41.5m) a 32% increase on prior year reflecting trading performance and reduction in finance costs.
• Underlying Contracted Forward Revenue growth of 4%, providing strong visibility into 2025.
• As part of the dividend rebasing to focus capital on M&A, final dividend proposed at 1.0p (2023: 3.2p).
• Gain of £412.0m recognised in equity following investment for 40% of the Group’s Healthcare business by Inflexion Private Equity Partners LLP (“Inflexion”).
• Platform strengthened with £88.0m investment across four value-creating M&A transactions, with a further acquisition (AI Palette) completing on 7 March 2025 for a purchase price of $11.5m.
• Announced proposed move to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange (“Main Market”).

Mike Danson, Chief Executive Officer of GlobalData Plc, commented:

“2024 was transformational for GlobalData following Inflexion’s significant investment in June 2024, which strengthened our balance sheet and accelerated our growth strategy. We have launched and made significant progress in our 2024-26 Growth Transformation Plan, particularly through our AI-first approach. Our AI Hub combines our proprietary data with advanced AI capabilities to deliver enhanced value to our customers and has rapidly gained traction, now serving over 42,000 users.

Strategic M&A remains a core element of our growth strategy, with four earning accretive acquisitions completed during the year, strengthening our One Platform offering. With much of the foundational work to re-organise the business and set us up for accelerated growth now completed, we enter 2025 with clear priorities and a strengthened team to deliver. With strong revenue visibility, a clear transformation roadmap, and the financial capacity to execute, we’re confidently progressing toward our target of £500m annualised revenue by 2026“.

Operational Highlights 

• Significant first-year progress against our three-year Growth Transformation Plan.

• Investment for 40% of the Group’s Healthcare business by Inflexion supports mid-term strategic goals, generating gross cash proceeds of £451.4m. Pre-existing debt facilities fully settled and extinguished upon transaction completion.

• Platform strengthened with £88.0m of investment across four earning accretive acquisitions (Business Trade Media International, LinkUp, Celent and Deallus).

• Transformative year in AI:

o  Demonstrable impact for customers, with over 42,000 users now subscribed to GlobalData’s AI Hub, transforming how users discover and apply insights in their daily workflows.

• Two Share Buyback Programmes completed returning £29.3m to shareholders; a further £50m buyback announced for 2025.

• Announced proposed move to the Main Market.

• Completed, on 7 March 2025, the acquisition of AI Palette for a purchase price of $11.5m, an AI Powered consumer insights platform offering an Innovation Intelligence solution to the Consumer-packaged goods sector. 

Financial Highlights 

• Strong growth in both revenue and profit before tax:

o  Overall revenue growth of 5% at £285.5m (2023: £273.1m), which includes some benefit of acquisitions and despite currency headwinds during the year.

o  Robust underlying revenue growth of 4% (2023: 7%).

• Adjusted EBITDA up 5% to £116.8m (2023: £110.8m), Adjusted EBITDA margin maintained at 41% (2023: 41%).

• Operating Profit declined 12% to £65.1m having been impacted by current year acquisition and integration expenses, restructuring costs incurred on the Healthcare transaction and an increase in the share-based payment charge.

• Profit before tax grew by £13.4m to £54.9m (2023: £41.5m) a 32% increase on prior year reflecting trading performance and reduction in finance costs.

• Operating cash flow was £97.6m (2023: £101.0m), a decrease of 3% reflecting one-off cash costs associated with the Inflexion Healthcare transaction and the four acquisitions.

• Contracted Forward Revenue (being Invoiced Forward Revenue plus contracted revenue not yet invoiced) grew by 12% to £171.4m (2023: £153.4m), the underlying growth of this metric was 4%.

• Invoiced Forward Revenue grew to £145.3m (underlying growth of 3%) at 31 December 2024 (31 December 2023: £135.2m).

• Signed new £340m debt financing facilities giving the Group significant firepower to execute its M&A strategy.

• As part of the dividend rebasing to focus capital on M&A, final dividend proposed at 1.0p (2023: 3.2p).

Current Trading and Outlook

• Robust outlook is underpinned by high levels of revenue visibility, good execution of the Growth Transformation Plan and a strong financial position that allows continued investment in strategic growth opportunities.

• Clear financial targets for FY25 and beyond:

o   Platform in place to accelerate organic and inorganic growth opportunities across our two customer-focused divisions.

o   Targeting annualised revenue of £500m by the end of 2026, through a combination of high single to double-digit organic revenue growth and M&A.

o    Steadily progressing towards 45% Adjusted EBITDA margin over the course of the plan period and reinvesting into the Growth Transformation Plan.