Trading update

RNS Number : 4502M

IQGeo Group PLC

12 January 2023

 

12 January 2023

IQGeo Group plc

(the "Company" or the "Group")

Trading update

IQGeo Group plc (AIM: IQG), a leading developer of geospatial productivity and collaboration software for telecoms and utility network operators, is pleased to provide an update on the Group's trading for the year ended 31 December 2022 ahead of the release of its final results in March 2023.

The Group is pleased to report that it expects results to be ahead of expectations, showing ongoing growth across all key metrics and its first full year of adjusted EBITDA** profitability.

Revenue for the year is expected to be not less than £26m (2021: £13.8m) representing strong growth of 88%, including continuing underlying organic growth in the core IQGeo business of around 65% (2021: 51%) at approximately £22.8m (2021: £13.8m).

The Group continues to focus on its transition toward a recurring revenue model. Overall revenue growth has been reflected by an increase in recurring revenue of 81% to approximately £10.5m (2021: £5.8m). Exit ARR* as at 31 December 2022 has increased by 83% to approximately £15.0m (2021: £8.2m) with recurring revenue net retention at approximately 108% (2021: 113%). The proportion of revenues represented by project and services has also increased in light of the number of customer implementation mandates as the Group has expanded its base of customers from 320 to 450 including both organic and through acquisition.

In-year orders have grown by over 90% to £38.0m (2021: £19.6m) resulting in a record closing order book of approximately £28.0m (2021: £14.6m) to be taken as revenue in future years.

The Group expects to report adjusted EBITDA** of not less than £1.8m (2021: loss of £0.8m), whilst continuing its significant investment in capability, headcount and the onboarding of significant new clients to further strengthen the Group's position and take advantage of the market opportunity. The Group has benefited at a revenue level from the strengthening of the US dollar throughout the year, however has retained a natural hedge from the proportion of costs also denominated in dollars.  

The Group retains a strong balance sheet, with cash of £8.1m (no borrowings) at the year-end (2021: £11.5m) having completed the €13m acquisition of Comsof during the period.

Richard Petti CEO said :

"I am very pleased to report another year of substantial progress. We have this year expanded our footprint and capabilities both organically and by acquisition, and have improved our position in a rapidly growing market. I am very grateful to our colleagues for their hard work in delivering on this and to our customers for supporting us.

Given the progress that we have made this year, our capabilities and resources, in addition to the opportunities that we see ahead of us in this market, we enter 2023 with excitement and great optimism for the Group. IQGeo's significantly increasing recurring revenues, strong organic growth, growing order book and new customer wins provides the Group with a strong platform to ensure continued success and achievement of our ambitions and build on the success of 2022.

We continue to be excited by the future with the telecom and utility operators that IQGeo supports  in the midst of a technological sea change as they continue to rapidly deploy new fibre, 5G, and decarbonised distributed energy networks. Looking forward, IQGeo anticipates there being significant levels of investment in these next generation networks which renders the Group extremely well placed to fulfil and capitalise on the demand for the flexible, scalable geospatial software solution offered by IQGeo."

* Exit ARR is defined as the current go forward run rate of annually renewable subscription and M&S agreements

**Adjusted EBITDA excludes amortisation, depreciation, share option expense, foreign exchange gains/losses on intercompany trading balances and non-recurring items and is reported as it reflects the performance of the Group.

The information contained within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon the publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

For further information contact:

IQGeo Group plc     [phone]

Richard Petti

Haywood Chapman

finnCap Ltd     [phone]

Henrik Persson, Seamus Fricker (Corporate Finance)

Tim Redfern, Charlotte Sutcliffe (ECM)

Notes to Editors

About IQGeo

Telecommunications and utility operators are "Building better networks" with IQGeo's award-winning software solutions. The ability to powerfully model any network requirement, integrate every system and data source, and support field and office teams with continual innovation is helping operators create the networks of the future. Our solutions ensure greater cross-team collaboration and process efficiency throughout the network lifecycle, from planning and design to construction, operations, and sales.

Whether it's highly competitive fiber and 5G broadband rollouts or complex utility grid modernization projects, IQGeo's enterprise solutions, our OSPInsight fiber design software, and our Comsof automated planning software are proven industry leaders. We partner with large multinationals and smaller regional operators to deliver the digital innovation they need to increase network resilience, operational safety, and business ROI.

Headquartered in Cambridge, with offices in Denver, Ghent, Toronto, Frankfurt and Tokyo, we work with some of the largest network infrastructure operators in the world. For more information visit:  www.iqgeo.com/

 

END

 

 

TSTEAXFFFAPDEFA