The IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH) share price is gaining in intraday trade, up 2.7% to $8.49 per share.
This comes following the release of the intellectual property services company's results for the full 2021 financial year.
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The IPH share price gains on results
- Revenue of $363.5 million, down 2% from $370.1 million in FY20.
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $113.3 million, equal to FY20 EBITDA.
- Net profit after taxes (NPAT) of $53.6 million, down 2% year-on-year from $54.8 million.
- Final dividend increased 3% from FY20 to 15.5 cents per share, 40% franked.
What happened in FY21 for IPH
IPH reported that it was able to deliver consistent underlying EBITDA ($124.3 million compared to $126.0 million in FY20) despite an 11% increase in the average Aussie dollar to US dollar exchange rate over the course of the financial year, as well as due to the continuing market disruptions from the ongoing global pandemic.
Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were came in about 4% lower than the prior year, at 24.7 cents compared to 25.8 cents in FY20.
What did management say?
Commenting on the results, IPH CEO Andrew Blattman said:
Like-for-like revenue declined by 2%, including the market disruption caused by COVID-19. However, our success in our ongoing strategy to integrate acquisitions and capture synergies to deliver margin accretion, together with another solid performance from Asia, resulted in Group Underlying like-for-like EBITDA increasing by 10%. Group Underlying like-for-like EBITDA margin increased by 12%…
IPH remains the market leader in Australia with combined group patent market share (including Baldwins IP on a proforma basis and excluding innovation patents) of 36.2% for the year to 30 June 2021.
What's next for IPH?
Looking ahead, Blattman said the company's focus is on "organic growth, consolidating acquisitions, and pursuing growth step-out opportunities".
He said IPH's strong financial position with low gearing and stable cash generation "enables us to continue to assess further growth options, including potential international acquisition opportunities in core secondary IP markets".
The record date for investors wanting to claim the final dividend is 25 August. Payment is scheduled for 17 September.
The IPH share price is up 0.5% over the past full year.
