More green shoots emerged in the personal injury market yesterday, as a leading firm reported rising profits and revenue. Unaudited results for the year ended 31 December show that NAHL Group tripled profit before tax to £600,000 and increased revenue by 6.5% to £41.5m.

In a trading update for the year end, the group said performance had been ‘ahead of market expectations, albeit from a low base’. Net debt was also brought down by 14% during the year to £13.3m.

The positive results were driven by a strong showing by the personal injury business, which grew revenue by 14% year on year, with operating profit up by 17%. After several years where the company’s fortunes fluctuated, the NAHL board said it was now confident the group was ‘on track to build a more sustainable and profitable business in the medium-term’.

The personal injury market was ‘subdued’ in the second half of 2022, but the group’s claims management arm still generated nearly 35,000 enquiries in this period – an annual rise of 9%.

The group’s own law firm, National Accident Law, ended the year with a book of 10,860 ongoing claims, 37% ahead of the prior year. It also collected £3.5m in cash from settlements in the year, an increase of 65%.

By contrast, the company’s residential property businesses experienced a slowdown from the second quarter of 2022 onwards, with revenues more than 20% down. NAHL said it had acted to reduce the cost base and expected the business to return a ‘modest profit contribution’ for the year.

Revenues in the critical care division (Bush & Co.) are expected to be 7% higher than 2021 at £13.2m and operating profit for the year should be around £3.5m, 6% ahead of the previous year.

NAHL chief executive James Saralis said the company had dealt well with wider economic uncertainty and described the year as an ‘important milestone’ in its future plans. ‘Looking ahead, whilst the personal injury market remains subdued, we are cautiously optimistic that the investments we are making leave us well placed to continue our growth and strong cash generation in 2023,’ he added.

NAHL shares closed on Tuesday up 3.2% to 35.6p – the highest since last October. The full results for 2022 are expected to be announced on 22 March.

 

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