Full year results for the year ended 31 March 2018
13 Jun 2018
Results in line with expectations, with continued growth and strong US payments momentum
Eckoh plc (AIM: ECK), the global provider of secure payment products and customer contact solutions, is pleased to announce its final results for the year to 31 March 2018.
| £m unless otherwise stated | FY18 | FY17 | Change |
| Revenue | 30.0 | 29.1 | 3% |
| Recurring Revenue % [1] | 76% | 76% | - |
| US revenue mix % | 37% | 33% | +400 bps |
| Gross profit | 22.9 | 20.3 | 13% |
| Adjusted EBITDA [2] | 6.5 | 5.8 | 13% |
| Adjusted operating profit [3] | 5.3 | 4.3 | 22% |
| Adjusted operating profit margin | 17.7% | 14.8% | 290 bps |
| Profit before taxation | 2.4 | 1.6 | 61% |
| Diluted Earnings per share | 1.03p | 0.56p | 84% |
| Proposed Full Year Dividend per share | 0.55p | 0.48p | 15% |
| Net Cash | 3.6 | 0.2 | n.m. |
Strategic highlights:
• Full year results in line with market expectations
• Growth in revenues, margin and profit
• US revenues up 16%, or 32% at organic local currency, representing 37% of Group revenues
• Excellent progress in US Secure Payments with revenues up 179% to $6.7m (FY17: $2.4m)
o 12 payment contracts won worth $9.3m (FY17: nine contracts worth $8.3m)
o Unrecognised payments revenue of $9.7m (FY17 $6.5m); encouraging pipeline for 2018
o Two new 20-year patents awarded, underpinning all US payments revenue
• Year of transition in the UK
o Restructured UK sales function and focus on larger strategic accounts bearing fruit
o More than twice the number of contracts won in H2 compared to H1
o Strong order book offering renewed momentum
Financial highlights:
• Revenues up 3% to £30.0m, or 7.6% at organic constant currency4
• Gross profit increased 13% to £22.9m (FY17: £20.3m)
• Adjusted operating profit3 up to £5.3m (FY17: £4.3m)
• Profit before taxation £2.4m (FY: £1.6m)
• Balance sheet significantly strengthened with net cash of £3.6m (FY17 £0.2m)
• Increased proposed final dividend of 0.55p per share (FY17: 0.48p)
Current Trading:
• Two three-year UK contracts worth a combined £1.3m won in the insurance sector since period end
• Four-year US payment contract win worth $1.1m with large healthcare company since period end
• Significant increase in interest in Omni-channel offering and Chatbot technology
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer, said:
'Eckoh is at the forefront of contact centre security and innovative customer engagement – two highly complementary propositions that drive long-term benefit for our customers. This is reflected in our performance, with growth in revenues, profit and margin. Our momentum in US Payments is particularly pleasing, where we are the market leader in contact centre security.
'In US Payments, given the size of the market opportunity, the quality of our patented products and the limited competition, we expect to see strong US growth over the coming years. After a year of transition, the UK operation has made good progress and is expected to return to growth this year. With the Group continuing to scale recurring revenues, and with our strong pipeline the Board remains confident in Eckoh's long-term prospects and continued growth in the year ahead.'
For more information, please contact:
Eckoh PLC
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer
Chrissie Herbert, Chief Financial Officer
Tel: +44 (0) 1442 458 300
www.eckoh.com