Zeus UK smallcap technology sector update - March 2024

Starting this month, we plan to provide monthly screens on the sector, in addition to observations on sector fundamentals and valuation. This month we screen for companies with the lowest EV/ EBIT multiples and identify five attractively valued companies. Among these, we highlight Nexteq and Maintel for their high quality and growth, respectively.

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 27 Feb 24

27th February 2024 @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment obj

Morning Note – 22 January 2024

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

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 – 19 September 2023

Maintel - Interims: another upgrade

Interims to June 2023 describe the positive outcome of phase 1 of the turnaround plan, delivering 2.8% EBITDA improvement from 1.7% revenue growth. The progressive shift from generalist to specialist, and migration to higher margin revenue streams, continues to benefit the model, which is also enjoying easing of supply chain shortages and unwind of the pent-up order book. EBITDA of £3.7m was delivered from revenue of £47.5m, representing 48% (1H22: 51%) and 43% (1H22: 83%) of FY revenue and upgr

Morning Note – 3 August 2023

Morning Note – 31 May 2023

Hybridan Small Cap Feast - 27 Apr 23

27th April 2023 @HybridanLLP Status of this Note and Disclaimer This document has been issued to you by Hybridan LLP for information purposes only and should not be construed in any circumstances as an offer to sell or solicitation of any offer to buy any security or other financial instrument, nor shall it, or the fact of its distribution, form the basis of, or be relied upon in connection with, any contract relating to such action. This document has no regard for the specific investment object

Morning Note – 27 April 2023

Maintel - Full-year results to December 2022

Finals in line with the January trading update, presenting EBITDA of £4.4m from revenue of £91m, leading to year-end net debt of £16.6m. Recurring revenue of £70m and new and existing customer contract awards totalling £50m offer a change in direction of the performance which had been hindered by the well-known hardware supply shortages, with constraints now easing. As a consequence, revenue is unlocked, and implementation teams utilised, to the benefit of revenue and margins. HSBC has confirmed

Morning Note – 29 September 2022

Maintel - Cloud growth and hardware challenges

Interims to June 2022 delivered EBITDA of £3.6m (1H21: £4.3m) from revenue of £46.7m (£53.5m), with performance restrained by the continuing challenges of hardware availability, and with delayed contracts representing postponed revenue of £6m in the period. Proving that the underlying business remains robust, the order book is at an all-time high of over £45m compared with £23m in 1H21, suggesting the return of stronger performance into FY23 and FY24. Net debt was steady at £19.4m (1H21: £19.1m:

Audioboom Group - Q1 24 revenue growth of +11%, FY24E forecasts reiterated

Audioboom’s FY23 results and Q1 trading update show Q1 24 revenue growth of +11% yoy, $6.7m of March 2024 revenue marking the platform’s highest revenue month since May 2022, and a confident outlook that leads us to reiterate our FY24E forecasts. Following the focus on new initiatives through FY23, the platform is now in its strongest ever operational position, with a record 1.1bn monthly ad impressions created in March 2024, record global audience reach of 38.6m unique global listeners in Janua

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

Crimson Tide - FY23 reports +15% revenue; investment phase complete

Crimson Tide has reported FY23 results to December in line with expectations, with additional operating leverage benefitting updated FY24 and maiden FY25 and FY26 forecasts. FY23 delivered +15% revenue growth to £6.2m at 86% GM, of which over 90% is recurring, and maintained £5.8m ARR even after unexpected customer churn in the year as we previously noted. Crucially, the Group achieved milestone adj EBITDA profitability of £0.4m at 7% EBITDA margin, and edges closer to adj PBT profitability expe

Morning Note – 16 April 2024

Devolver Digital (DEVO LN) - Rebuild year

Devolver Digital encouragingly delivered 2023 results slightly ahead of expectations and provided a steady medium-term outlook that leads us to reiterate our 2024 Adjusted EBITDA estimates. Longer term, the company is now planning to further develop its two major planned titles, Human Fall Flat 2 and System Era's next major new release. We now expect those major titles to be released in 2026 rather than 2025, meaning we lower our 2025 Adjusted EBITDA forecast to $10.6m from $17.6m but introduce

Morning Note – 15 April 2024

Checkit - New product launch and contract wins

Checkit has won contracts with two customers worth at least £417k over the three-year lives of the contracts, confirming its ability to upsell to its existing customer base and supporting our forecasts. Having trialled the new technology with multiple customers, Checkit has launched its Asset Intelligence module, which uses advanced analytics and machine learning to enhance customer sustainability, reduce costs and increase revenue.

Soft growth patch

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).

Morning Note – 17 April 2024

Touchstar - Full year results: Recurring revenue strategy delivers further profit growth

Touchstar is a supplier of mobile data computing solutions and managed services to a variety of industrial sectors. This morning's full year results reflect the outcome of a multi-year strategy coming to fruition for the group, with recurring revenue growth of 8.7% delivering overall revenue growth of 7.1% and in turn a 60% increase in PBT to £0.7m. Over the past few years, Touchstar has focused on enhancing the returns from their product offering through a shift towards recurring software licen

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.

Engage XR Holdings - Expanding from FY23, FY24E forecasts reiterated

ENGAGE XR’s FY23 results show revenue and net cash in line with the February trading update, EBITDA ahead at -€4.0m vs -€4.5m due to the split of cash outflow between opex and working capital, and a confident outlook that leads us to reiterate our FY24E forecasts. FY23 revenue for the core ENGAGE platform was unchanged vs FY22 at €3.3m, as H2 23 revenue was impacted by the record seven-figure contract announced in February shifting to 2024, and several enterprise customers scaling back renewals

LIBERUM: Cirata plc: Cirata from the flames

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024