Gateley (GTLY) H1 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenue increased 5.3% year-over-year to £86.3m for H1 25, with organic growth of 3.2% and improved fee earner utilisation to 88% from 83%.

• Underlying operating profit rose 5.8% to £9.1m, maintaining a 10.5% margin, and underlying profit before tax increased 5.9% to £10.6m.

• Consultancy now represents 29.8% of group revenues, nearing the 30% milestone.

• Interim dividend maintained at 3.3p per share.

• Integration of RJA acquisition completed, supporting profitable growth and exceeding expectations.

Financial highlights

• Net cash position of £1.2m at H1 25, compared to net debt of £2.2m in H1 24.

• Underlying profit before tax margin at 12.3%; diluted EPS grew 3.6% to 6.63p.

• Free cash flow was £0.5m, with improved debtor days (91 vs 98) and lock-up days (162 vs 163).

• Staff costs remained stable at 63.4% of revenue; operating costs as a percentage of revenue decreased to 22.1%.

• Interim dividend maintained at 3.3p per share.

Outlook and guidance

• Full-year results expected to be in line with market consensus, with strong H1 performance and positive momentum in transactional and counter-cyclical services.

• Investments in people, platforms, and systems are expected to drive long-term margin improvement.

• Promising M&A pipeline for H2, supporting further expansion.

• Board confident in resilience from diversified business model and ongoing investments.

• Ongoing focus on margin improvement through pricing discipline, WIP management, and cross-selling.