INVESTOR RELATIONS

STM Group Plc (AIM: STM), the multi-jurisdictional financial services group, is pleased to announce its audited final results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2019.

Financial Highlights:

* Profit before other items is defined as revenue less operating expenses i.e. profit before taxation, finance income and costs, depreciation, amortisation, bargain purchase gain and gain on the call options

** Underlying statistics are net of certain transactions which do not form part of the regular operations of the business as further detailed in Table 2 below

Operational Highlights:

• Redefined Purpose and Vision that sets out our roadmap for the future
• The continued repositioning of the Group as a UK centric PLC with more UK focussed pensions and life products
• Repositioned the Carey name to our new UK brand; "Options, for your tomorrow"
• Entered the developing and exciting UK workplace pension solutions market via the Carey acquisition - a sector now effectively closed to new entrants
• Implementation of new Target Operating Model allowing for clearer and more efficient reporting lines, stronger governance and control
• Ongoing IT development to achieve greater efficiencies and enhance margins
• Carey acquisition now operationally integrated to allow for cost benefits to materialise
• Pipeline of acquisition opportunities, particularly in the UK
• Launch of our new flexible annuity product as an alternative to a SIPP

Commenting on the results and prospects for STM, Alan Kentish, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"2019 has been a year of transition for the Group as we move towards a more efficient and unified business. This has meant that the 2019 numbers have included some additional investments in infrastructure under our revised Operating Model, and we saw a timing delay in the uptake of certain new business initiatives, however despite that, we delivered a statutory profit before tax of £3.9 million for the year.

"The completion of the Carey acquisition occurred in February 2019, with all operational integration now finalised giving us one solid UK hub for our SIPP and Workplace pension solutions businesses from which to further expand. This expansion will be driven organically through the relaunch of our UK products under the new brand of "Options, for your tomorrow". This growth will be complemented by selective acquisitions in the UK market.

"2020 has started with the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 virus which has thrown the health, social and financial environments of the world into turmoil. It is likely the financial impact of this will have longer term implications on many industry sectors. The resilience of our business model will be tested, but we are confident that the nature of our annual recurring fees, which are predominantly based on a fixed quantum rather than a percentage of Assets Under Administration (‘AUA'), gives a high degree of visibility for the majority of our revenue for the foreseeable future. An assessment of our business has indicated that based on existing interest rates and current depressed financial markets only £0.4 million of our 2019 £18 million of recurring revenue is at risk with a similar consequential risk to profitability. As one would expect, our priority is to protect our colleagues and maintain our service levels to our customers; and in this regard the Board has implemented various business continuity plans to ensure that our colleagues can work productively from home. At this point in time we have not seen that these actions have added any material cost to the business."

The information communicated in this announcement is inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation 596/2014.

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Notes to editors:

STM is a multi jurisdictional financial services group which is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange. The Group specialises in the administration of client assets in relation to retirement, estate and succession planning and wealth structuring.

Today, the Group has operations in the UK, Gibraltar, Malta, Jersey and Spain. STM has developed a range of pension products for UK nationals and internationally domiciled clients and has two Gibraltar Life Assurance Companies which provide life insurance bonds - wrappers in which a variety of investments, including investment funds, can be held.

STM’s growth strategy is focussed on both organic initiatives and strategic acquisitions.

Further information on STM Group can be found at www.stmgroupplc.com