Claims firm NAHL says it is banking on longer-term benefits from legal work after announcing a break-even first half of the year.
The business said it expects to announce no profit for the six months to 30 June despite revenues increasing slightly to £21m.
NAHL said its strategy to invest in new claims through its wholly-owned firm National Accident Law will have a ‘longer life cycle but produce higher returns’, in comparison to the company’s previous core claims management activity.
As a result, profit attributable to members is likely to be down 30% to £1.4m.
Several performance indicators were positive for the half-year, with net debt down by 20% from a year before to £11.6m, the business said.
National Accident Law settled 178% more claims in the period (some 10,611 in total), resulting in a 77% increase in cash generated and a greater market share of the personal injury sector.
The group’s critical care division Bush & Co took on extra staff in the period as more work came in.
James Saralis, chief executive of NAHL, said: ‘Whilst the personal injury market remains stagnant, we believe that our industry-leading brand, National Accident Helpline, continues to take market share and our critical care business continues to go from strength to strength, issuing 15% more expert witness reports than the same time last year as well as recruiting 40 new associates to meet the growing demand.
‘As a result, and notwithstanding the difficult macroeconomic environment, our full year expectations remain unchanged.’
Shares in NAHL Group plc rose by around 15% in the two days following the trading update, ending last week on 50p. This was the highest price recorded since December 2021.
