StatPro Group - Recommended cash offer at 230p

StatPro has received a recommended all-cash offer at 230p per share (a 54.9% premium to the closing price) from Confluence Technologies, a private equity-backed (TA Associates) US-based provider of solutions to the global asset management industry. The offer is recommended by the board and supported by shareholders representing 65.2% of the shares. At the interims, management confirmed its focus on driving sales, having established the building blocks for growth (consolidation of the Revolution

StatPro Group - Suspension of estimates

For the purposes of the Takeover Code, Edison Investment Research is deemed to be connected with SCISYS plc. Under Rule 20.1 Edison must not include any profit forecast, quantified financial benefits statement, asset valuation or estimate of other figures key to the offer, except to the extent that such forecasts, statements, valuations or estimates have been published prior to the offer period (as defined in the Takeover Code) by an offeror or the offeree company (as appropriate) in accordance

StatPro Group - Organic ARR growth rises to 3.2%

StatPro produced a solid set of interim results, with organic annualised recurring revenue (ARR) growth accelerating to 3.2% from 1.1% at end-2018. The EBITDA margin continued to expand and the group has a widening range of growth drivers in place. After many years of development on the group’s Revolution cloud platform and new divisions in place, which also creates opportunities in the data space, the focus is increasingly shifting onto driving sales. Given the group’s c £57.3m recurring revenu

Good growth in ARR and a positive outlook

StatPro’s interim results reflect growth in Annualised Recurring Revenue (ARR) and EBITDA which result from increasing margins, improved growth in new contract numbers and fewer cancellations. Although there is some influence on the shape of the reported numbers from restatements and some exceptional items, it is clear that progress has continued in the first half. The new divisional structure has given the businesses renewed impetus and it was clear from a number of announcements during the fir

Small Cap Feast

Interswitch, a Nigeria-based payments firm, has hired advisers to resurrect plans for a stock-market listing in London and Lagos later this year, which may value the financial technology company at $1.3bn to $1.5bn.

StatPro Group - £1.5m Revolution conversion with 77% uplift

Positive newsflow continues, with StatPro announcing a significant £1.5m conversion from its legacy Seven suite to its modern Revolution cloud platform. This follows the recent news of a partnership with JP Morgan’s Data and Analytics business and the acquisition of an ESG research and index business. The deal is significant since it is a large contract with a key client, has an attractive 77% conversion premium and signals that the group is moving towards the end stages of conversions of its le

Further positive conversion contract news

StatPro has announced that it has secured a conversion from its legacy StatPro Seven software to its cloud-based StatPro Revolution service with a large insurance company. This resulting three-year contract has a minimum value of £1.5 million representing a 77% increase in annual subscription. This large contract with an existing key client brings a good uplift in annual revenue and represents another conversion from Seven that remains within the Group while further endorsing the cloud-focused s

Partnership with JP Morgan

StatPro has announced a partnership with JP Morgan which it believes will be a significant contributor to growth in the future. We see the announcement as both another endorsement of StatPro’s cloud-based Revolution platform and an important new distribution channel for the Group. Initially for five years, the partnership will develop Risk and Performance Attribution capabilities for portfolio managers through J.P. Morgan's data and analytics platform. When launched, the service will be immediat

StatPro Group - Bolt-on of an ESG research and index business

StatPro has acquired ECPI, a small private Italian environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and index business, from its management for a total consideration of c €2.9m (c £2.6m). While the deal is small, we believe there is significant potential to add value by cross-selling the products to StatPro’s large global client base. In our view, the shares continue to look undervalued, given the group’s c £56m recurring revenue book and the attractive rating (c 14x FY20e), especially in lig

Going green…

StatPro has this morning announced the acquisition of a business active in the provision of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) ratings and indices. The deal offers a good fit with the group’s existing client base and product range, and is expected to be modestly earnings-enhancing in the first full year of ownership. We note a similar recent purchase by the London Stock Exchange. We upgrade our 2020E earnings estimates slightly to reflect the deal.

Small Cap Feast

Alumasc Group plc, the prem ium building products, system s and solutions group, has announced its intention to m ove from the Premium Segment of the main market to AIM. Expected market cap of £33.4m. Expected 25 June 2019 Argentex a UK-based forex service provider founded in 2011 by its current management team which operates as a Riskless Principal for nonspeculative and forward foreign exchange as structured financial derivatives is looking to join AIM. Offer TBC, expected 25 June

StatPro Group - Trading remains in line with expectations

Trading remains in line and we have maintained our forecasts, which imply 2.7% FY19 organic revenue growth. Management’s two key priorities for FY19 are 1) improving EBITDA margins in all areas of the business and 2) ensuring the Delta integration is a success. In the longer run, margins stand to benefit from the group’s increasing scale and costs dropping out as the group’s three software platforms are consolidated over the next few years. In our view, the shares continue to look attractive, gi

Recent contract wins highlight momentum

Following a solid performance in 2018, StatPro’s AGM statement confirms that the Group has traded in line with expectations during the first part of the current financial year. This is consistent with the outlook comment in the March FY 2018 results announcement which said that the Group had good visibility into H1 2019 with a solid business pipeline. We also note recent positive announcements on contracts – the latest of which was made earlier this week when the Group announced a three year ext

Small Cap Feast

Induction Healthcare Group plc—a healthcare technology company focused on streamlining the delivery of care by Healthcare Professionals looking to join AIM. Expected raise of £14.58m at 115p, market cap of £34.07m. Expected 22 May 2019. SDX Energy plc—a North Africa focused oil and gas company, announces its intention to complete a Canadian plan of arrangement under section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act and will have shares de-listed from the TSX-V and admitted to trading on AI

Useful contract extension

StatPro has announced a useful extension to a contract with an existing customer – a total of €1.2m over three years from a Revolution Delta client. The news does not cause us to revisit our estimates, but provides a useful boost to forecast security, and demonstrates both client satisfaction and the positive tailwind of ongoing regulatory change. We look forward to hearing more around the time of the AGM later in May.

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

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).

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 – 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

Initial Equity Trading Comments - 19 February 2024

FY23 results in line – and a flying start to FY24

ENGAGE XR has published its FY23 full year results, the headlines of which reflect the details provided in February’s post close trading update in terms of revenue, EBITDA loss and net cash. ENGAGE XR has signed a rapidly growing number of strategic and commercial partnership agreements with companies invested in promoting the VR medium and the development of corporate metaverses.