Morning Note – 1 March 2024

Morning Note – 31 January 2024

FADEL - FY23E EBITDA ahead, FY24-25E upgrades to EBITDA and cash

FADEL’s FY23 trading update shows FY23 revenue in line with our previous forecast, adjusted EBITDA substantially ahead with at least -$2.6m vs our previous -$3.6m, and a confident outlook that leads us to upgrade our FY24E & FY25E adjusted EBITDA, EFCF, and net cash. FY23 revenue growth of +10% to $14.5m was driven by recurring revenue growth of +31% to $11.4m, with new contract wins from customers including PepsiCo, Kimberly-Clark, Sanofi and Philip Morris, successful cross-selling and upsellin

The Joy of Techs - Cavendish Technology quarterly sector note

£23.3bn in enterprise value has been returned to AIM technology shareholders over the past six years in the form of 51 public to private takeouts, including 10 in 2023 alone with the takeovers of Smoove* and Tribal announced in early October. With UK valuations appearing cheap and looking more attractive to potential acquirers, we take a moment to reflect on the trends of corporate and private equity bidders targeting AIM-listed technology companies going back to 2017, through the uncertainties

Morning Note – 27 September 2023

FADEL - Promising signs in H1, FY23-25 forecasts reiterated

H1 results show revenue of $5.4m, adjusted EBITDA of -$2.0m, net cash of $7.3m, and expectations that FY23 is trading in line with our forecasts. H1 recurring revenue grew +4% yoy to $4.3m, as blue-chip customers have continued to deploy and expand adoption through H1, including Coca-Cola and Sanofi implementing Brand Vision Rights Cloud. As at the July trading update, management expects several upcoming annual licence renewals for IPM Suite to change to be recognised upfront, which will lead to

Morning Note – 25 July 2023

Morning Note – 22 June 2023

FADEL - FY22 in line to slightly ahead, FY23-25 forecasts reiterated

FADEL has reported FY22 results in line to slightly ahead of the forecasts from our May initiation, and we reiterate our FY23-FY25 forecasts. FY22 revenue grew +10% to $13.2m vs our previous forecast of $13.1m, as IPM Suite delivered +19% yoy growth and Brand Vision scaled to $1.9m following the IDS acquisition in October 2021. FY22 adjusted EBITDA of -$0.6m was ahead of our previous forecast of -$0.8m, and as the company invests in scaling the platform, today’s announcement confirms the hiring

Morning Note – 16 May 2023

FADEL - Accelerating from a strong foundation

Following the 6 April IPO, we initiate coverage of FADEL with a 260p target price. FADEL’s cloud-based platform enables licensors and licensees to manage and maximise the value of their content and intellectual property, through the IPM Suite and Brand Vision solutions. It already benefits from a blue-chip customer base including Pearson, L’Oréal, Hachette Livre and Marvel, and IPM Suite has only lost 1 live customer in 18 years, as the platform differentiates due to its proprietary technology,

LIBERUM: Cirata plc: Cirata from the flames

Alphawave Semi: FY23 trading update, amended forward guidance

Alphawave Semi has reduced guidance for FY23 and prospectively citing lower revenues from China, changes in expected revenue recognition from long-term contracts, and continuing investment in R&D. The share price has reacted negatively, giving up most of the gains since the trading statement at the end of January. Current consensus, which is a good match for pre-existing guidance, should be reduced, most likely following release of the FY23 results and full 1Q24 trading update due on 23 April. H

Zeus Top Picks for 2024 - 2023 review and outlook for 2024

On 9 January last year, we set out our ten top stock picks for 2023, for what turned out to be another relatively poor twelve months for UK equities due to two wars, stubbornly high inflation and further tightening of monetary policy. This was even as other major markets, such as the US, largely recovered in the year. In the 2023 calendar year, the AIM All-Share index fell 8.2% and is still 42% off its 2021 high. From the release of our 2023 top picks note, the average total return (assuming div

It’s not what you sell, it’s the way that you sell it

This report is intended to help UK small- and mid-cap investors gain a better understanding of software companies’ routes to market, and to highlight how one of the most important facets of the way in which they grow and deliver value is routinely ignored.  We examine sales processes for six UK-listed companies and one that has recently been taken over, and consider why they have followed their respective paths.

Synectics + (SNX, House Stock at 185p) - Strong FY23A profit growth to continue

Maintel - Strong FY23 year-end TU continues trend of over-delivery

Maintel has reported a trading update for the year ending December 2023, indicating revenue in of at least £101m and adj EBITDA of “in excess of £9m”, compared with respective forecasts of £98m and £8.6m. Net debt of £18.1m also outperforms our expected year-end net debt of £18.6m. The group is continuing the trend established with the reintroduction of forecasts in April 2023, where growing confidence in delivery led to upgraded forecasts in both August and September, and still achieving outper

Eleco - FY23E EBITDA +3% ahead, FY24-26E EBITDA & EFCF reiterated

Eleco’s FY23 trading update highlights record recurring revenue growth of +22% to £20.7m, strong profitability that leads us to expect FY23E adjusted EBITDA +3% ahead of our previous forecast, and a confident outlook that leads us to reiterate our FY24-26E EBITDA and EFCF. Across the group, excellent execution of the SaaS transition has driven recurring revenue to 74% of group revenue from 64% in FY22, and ARR is +24% yoy to £22.6m (£19.7m at H1), including c£2m of ARR from the successful acquis

Morning Note – 4 April 2024

Auction Technology Group - H1/24 Trading update

ATG’s H1/24 trading statement indicates revenue for the six-month period to 31 March 2024 was $86m, a 6% increase on H1/23 (1% organic growth), helped by the addition of the EstateSales.Net (ESN) marketplace last year, which performed well in the period. Total marketplace revenue increased 2% (organic), driven by growth in value-added services (VAS) and event fees, offsetting a decline in commission revenue (mainly through lower asset prices).

Intelligent Ultrasound Group - GE Healthcare launches new Voluson Signature with

GE Healthcare has announced the launch of the Voluson Signature 20 and 18 ultrasound systems, with the related press release noting these systems ‘comprehensively integrate artificial intelligence’ to improve the ultrasound procedure for clinicians and the women being scanned. These ultrasound systems include SonoLyst, the AI which incorporates Intelligent Ultrasound’s ScanNav Assist and ScanNav AutoCapture AI software. The launch of additional Voluson systems including the SonoLyst suite of AI