(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors - UK) Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON:LTG) got off to a strong start in 2016 after what it described as a 'transformational' 2015.
Last year finished on a high with the group winning its largest ever contract to develop a new training platform for 400000 civil servants.
That contract with Civil Service Learning (CSL) will require an up-front cash investment this year and the benefits should start feeding through in the second half and then really kick in next year and in 2018.
Even without the benefits of the big CSL contract 2015 was an impressive year in which revenue rose 33% to 19.9mln from 14.9mln the year before while adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) more than doubled to 4.3mln from 2.1mln.
The adjusted EBITDA margin climbed to 21% from 14%.
Reported profit before tax weighed in at 1.5mln versus a loss of 0.1mln the year before while adjusted profit before tax which ignores one-off items rose 113% to 3.8mln from 1.8mln.
Adjusted diluted earnings per share doubled to 0.756p from 0.375p in 2014 paving the way for an impressive 50% hike in the total dividend to 0.15p from the 0.1p paid in 2014.
'Our strategy of creating agroup of market-leading businesses providing global complementary services in the fast growing learning technologies sectoris rapidly taking shape' claimed Andrew Brode chairman of Learning Technologies (LTG).
LTG's chief executive Jonathan Satchell said the group had established a strong platform on which to build.
'I believe that LTG is very well placed to achieve a prominent position in a highly fragmented growing market currently estimated to be worth 140 billion' Satchell said.
'We see the ability to measure the impact of learning as the next major disruption to the e-learning industry. LTG's acquisition of Rustici and investment in Watershed in January 2016 places us at the vanguard of this crucial and exciting change. We view the future with confidence" the chief executive declared.
The group said the current year should see it benefit from a healthy order book and increased cross-selling opportunities provided by its blended learning capability while margins are expected to remain strong.
The acquisition of Rustici and the investment in Watershed firmly places LTG at the heart of a rapidly evolving e-learning industry the company said.
The shares rose 0.7% to 37p on the results just a penny below their 52-week high.
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