Full year results for the year ended 31 March 2019
12 Jun 2019
Results in line with expectations, with strong new business growth in UK and US
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 ended 31 March 2019.
£m unless otherwise stated |
FY19 |
FY18 Restated1 |
Change |
New business contracted5 |
22.6 |
15.3 |
47% |
Total business contracted7 |
32.7 |
20.2 |
62% |
Revenue |
28.7 |
27.2 |
+5% |
Recurring Revenue %2 |
83% |
82% |
+100 bps |
Gross profit |
24.1 |
23.5 |
+3% |
Adjusted EBITDA3 |
4.3 |
5.1 |
(16%) |
Profit before taxation |
1.2 |
1.1 |
+7% |
Diluted Earnings per share |
0.36 |
0.52 |
(31%) |
Proposed Full Year Dividend per share |
0.61 |
0.55 |
+11% |
Net Cash |
8.3 |
3.6 |
+4.7 |
Strategic highlights:
- Strong UK and US momentum – Record levels of new and total business contracted, up 47% and 62%
- US Secure Payments new business up 48% to $13.7m and order book grew 63% to $22.7m (FY181: $13.9m)
- UK grew strongly – more than £10m in new business driven by improved sales channel
- Investment in innovation – five new patents granted during the year
Financial Highlights:
- Results in line with market expectations
- Revenues up 5%, or 5% at constant currency4, with growth in the UK and US
- Recurring revenue up to 83% (FY181: 82%)
- Deferred revenue6 up 44% to £14.6m (FY181: £10.1m), reflecting business wins and impact of IFRS 15
- Adjusted EBITDA of £4.3m reduced by 16% (FY181: £5.1m) demonstrating a planned increase in headcount, and investment in Sales, Marketing and IT ahead of the recognition of deferred revenue6 under IFRS 15
- Strong cash performance – net cash of £8.3m (FY18: £3.6m)
- Proposed final dividend increased by 11% to 0.61p per share (FY18: 0.55p)
Current Trading:
- Significant new contracts won since period end
- Three-year UK contract for Contact Centre digital transformation project
- Five-year secure payments cloud contract covering the US, UK and Europe
- Largest UK contract renewal for FY20 signed with Premier Inn
- Strong sales pipeline in both the UK and US Secure Payments
- Record visibility for current year
Nik Philpot, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“Eckoh performed extremely well in the 2019 financial year, and in line with market expectations. We grew both the UK and US divisions, achieved record levels of new business sales that will convert into future revenue growth, and had another strong cash performance.
Looking ahead, our fast-growing order book is supporting greater revenue visibility. This, combined with our investment in our business and people, and our patented IP, provides an excellent platform for future growth and reinforces our confidence in the positive outlook for the Group.”
Notes
- Restatement as a result of adoption of IFRS15 – Revenue from Contracts and Customers
- Recurring revenue is defined as on-going revenue on a transactional basis, rather than revenue derived from the set-up and delivery of a new service or hardware.
- Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) is the profit before tax adjusted for depreciation, amortisation, finance income, finance expense, legal fees and settlement costs and expenses relating to share option schemes.
- Constant currency (using last year exchange rates)
- New business contracted excluding renewals with existing customers.
- Deferred revenue is defined in IFRS 15: Revenue from Contracts with Customers as contract liabilities
- Total business contracted includes new business from new clients, new business from existing clients as well as renewals with existing clients