# Burford Capital Putting fears to rest

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/burford-capital-putting-fears-to-rest/412828314
- Published: 2020-06-04T07:32:58+01:00
- Author: Amilia Stone

**Burford Capital Limited **(LON:BUR) has announced its results for 2019. As previously
indicated, these were lower than in the previous year. Revenue fell 17% from $430m
in 2018 to $357m. Profit after tax, on Burford’s basis, declined 31% from $329m 
to $226m. As announced earlier, there will be no final dividend so only the interim
dividend of ¢4.17 was paid for FY19. Unusually, Burford has also released a trading
update for early 2020 alongside its main figures. Court results and arbitral awards
have been obtained that would generate some healthy profits. Most notable is $200m
in income ($300m in cash receipts) regarding which further legal review is unlikely.

 * **New presentation:** Burford has always tried to be open about how it works,
   but this report overhauls its presentation. Additional information on commitments,
   fair-value accounting and returns should reassure investors and finally put to
   rest the hazy allegations that have been made against it.
 * **Balance sheet:** Cash generation from operations was $518m, only slightly down
   from the $526m generated in 2018. With the new SWF arrangement in place, balance
   sheet deployments were much reduced at $465m, compared with $670m in 2018. Year-
   end cash was down $71m to $206m.
 * **Risks:** The investment portfolio is highly diversified, both by number of 
   claims and type. However, it retains some very large investments, which means
   revenue could be volatile, particularly in the smaller divisions. The Petersen
   case shows that this volatility is not simply a negative.
 * **Investment summary:** Burford Capital has already demonstrated an impressive
   ability to deliver good returns in a growing market while investing its capital
   base. As the invested capital continues to grow, we would expect that the litigation
   investment business will continue to produce strong earnings growth.

[DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT](https://www.hardmanandco.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Burford-Capital-3-June-2020.pdf)

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