Burford Capital shares rally as profits jump 17 percent

Burford Capital (LON:BUR) shares rallied on Wednesday, after the company posted a promising set of interim results.

Specifically, the results revealed that profit after tax was up 17 percent to $166.3 million, compared to $142.7 million.

Operating profit was up 18 percent to $183.5 million, with income up 17 percent to $205.2 million.

Earnings per share were up 21 percent to 77c, compared to 64c. Cash generation was up 61 percent to $299 million, with a dividend of 3.67c, marking a 20 percent increase.

Sir Peter Middleton, Chairman of Burford, commented on the results:

“Burford has experienced another stellar half-year, setting new records for income and profit. Burford continues to set the pace for a growing industry, in its scale, product development and risk-adjusted returns. The Board is grateful for the continued support of our all of our stakeholders.”

Christopher Bogart, Chief Executive Officer of Burford, said:

“The expansion of the litigation finance industry continues, with more demand for our capital, growing opportunities for us to invest, continued vigilance in investment selection, and another increase in our profits. This past half-year affirms the trends we’ve increasingly set for more than eight years, with Burford’s superior growth reflected in rising scale relative to longstanding competitors.

He added, “The simple fact that we committed half-a-billion dollars to new investments in the first half of the year, historically our slower period, fills us with excitement for the continuing potential of the business.”

The company, which classifies itself as a ‘leading global finance and investment management firm’, is primarily focused on the law sector.

Burford Capital was founded back in 2009, and has headquarters in New York, Chicago as well as London.

The firm has been listed on the London Stock Exchange AIM market as of the same year.

Shares in Burford are currently trading up 11.81 percent as of 14.12PM (GMT).