Pre-Close Trading Update

RNS Number : 5319J

essensys PLC

24 August 2021

 

24 August 2021

essensys plc

("essensys" or the "Group")

Pre-Close Trading Update

Performance in line with expectations and strong recurring revenues

- Continued growth in recurring revenues, up to 87%

- US recurring revenues continue to grow strongly, up 20%

- £32m placing to support long-term growth plans

essensys plc (AIM:ESYS), the leading global provider of mission critical software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms and on-demand cloud services to the flexible workspace industry, is pleased to announce an unaudited pre-close trading update for the financial year ended 31 July 2021.

Highlights

On a constant currency basis¹ Group revenue increased by 2% to £22.9m and recurring revenue increased to £19.8m (FY20: £19.4m).

Revenue (at actual currency) for the year was in line with consensus market expectations at £22.0m (FY20, £22.5m).  Recurring revenue represented 87% of revenue in the year (FY20: 86%) and was £19.1m (FY20: £19.4m). 

Adjusted EBITDA² is expected to be in line with consensus market expectations.

The Group's US business continues to grow strongly with year-on-year recurring revenue increasing 20% to US$12.15m from US$10.17m in FY20.

Constant currency Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) run-rate as at 31 July 2021 was £20.5m, an increase of 4% on July 2020 (£19.7m).

During the year the Group continued to deliver new customer sites and closed the financial year with 474 live Connect sites, an increase of 13% year-on-year (419 as at 31 July 2020).  The Group has an additional 28 new Connect sites contracted with the majority of these to be delivered in H1 FY21.

In July 2021, the Group successfully raised net proceeds of c.£32m via a significantly over-subscribed placing and open offer.  This will be used to pursue the Group's growth plan over the next three years, accelerating its global go-to-market activities and product development roadmap. As part of this accelerated growth plan, the Group recently announced the appointment of Eric Schaffer as CEO of its newly established Asia Pacific business. Eric's appointment has already resulted in good early engagements with target customers as well as market interest in our proposition and technology building more widely across the region.

The Board is pleased with the Group's performance during the year given the continued challenging environment relating to the global pandemic, demonstrating the continued resilience of the business and the relevance and value of its software and technology to an expanding group of customers globally.

Net cash at year end was £36.9m following the completion of the recent fundraising.  Excluding the impact of the fundraising, net cash was £5.0m.  T he Group remains debt free.

Mark Furness, CEO commented:

"essensys has made great progress this year, delivering results in line with expectations, continued growth in recurring revenues, and the addition of a number of new strategic customers.  This reflects the long-term structural drivers for flexible real estate offerings, which have been accelerated by Covid-19.  We have a clear plan to capture this market opportunity, reflected in our recent placing to raise £32m and early progress with our expansion in Asia Pacific."

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information for the purposes of article 7 of the market abuse regulation (EU) no. 596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For further information, please contact:

essensys plc	[phone]
Mark Furness (Chief Executive Officer) Alan Pepper (Chief Financial Officer)
Singer Capital Markets (nominated adviser and joint broker)	[phone]
Peter Steel / Harry Gooden / George Tzimas
Berenberg (joint broker)	[phone]
Ben Wright / Mark Whitmore / Tejas Padalkar
FTI Consulting (public relations adviser)	[phone]
Jamie Ricketts / Eve Kirmatzis / Talia Jessener / Victoria Caton

About essensys plc

essensys is the leading global provider of mission-critical SaaS platforms and on-demand cloud services to the high growth flexible workspace industry. essensys' software is specifically designed and developed to help solve the complex operational challenges faced by multi-site flexible workspace operators as they grow and scale their operations. The Group's technology allows operators to deliver a range of differentiated, flexible and customer-specific services to a broad base of tenants across multiple locations and helps operators to manage the cost, operational and technological challenges they typically encounter.

essensys' Flex Services Platform , addresses these complex operational challenges, and reduces costs by simplifying the day-to-day management of flexible workspaces and the provision of on-demand IT, technology and infrastructure services to tenants. essensys' platforms automate key tasks and processes and help flexible workspace providers deliver highly efficient, customer-centric workspace solutions and member experiences with enterprise class services.

Notes

¹ FY21 revenue translated into GBP at the average currency ruling in FY20

² Adjusted for share option charges

 

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