Trading Update and Board Change

RNS Number : 6967N

Rosslyn Data Technologies PLC

20 May 2015

 

20th May 2015

Rosslyn Data Technologies plc

("Rosslyn" or "the Company")

Trading Update and Board Change

Rosslyn Data Technologies plc (AIM: RDT), a global leader in big data cloud technology, is announces that it expects to release its results for the year to 30 April 2015 in early September and provide an update on trading.

Revenue for the year to 30 April 2015 is expected to be no less than £2.8m, an increase of at least 35% on 2013-14. The loss for the year, before income tax, is expected to be no more than £3.65m (2013-14, £2.56m loss, excluding exceptional items and share based payments). As at 30^th April 2015, Rosslyn had net cash balances of approximately £4.7m.

The Directors are encouraged by performance of the Group, which reflects sales growth in H2 of close to 50% year on year, and are pleased to report that this momentum has continued into the current financial year. The new financial year has begun well, supported by a number of recent contract wins and partnership arrangements with PwC and E&I, both of which provide additional scale and reach for the Company.  The Directors expect this momentum to remain in the second half of the year and to continue in line with the strategy articulated at the time of the Company's Admission to AIM in April 2014.

Growth has been pursued and achieved at the same time as costs having been kept under control and the Company's cash profile remains in line with, or ahead of, management's expectations. The Board remains confident that the Company has the resources and business plan in place to enable the Company to become cashflow positive in line with its expectations. The Board constantly reviews the conflicting opportunities relating to the Company's rate of growth and speed of achieving cashflow breakeven.    

During the year, the Board has focused on three key areas of sales and marketing, R&D and operational and financial management. In all three, material improvements have been made. 

·     In sales and marketing, the Company's client acquisition rate has increased which has been supported by shorter sales cycles and improved conversion rates.  Having won a new client, the Company's expansion strategy has sought to gain traction by increasing a client's usage and extending the reach of Rosslyn's data analytics platform into new areas. It is pleasing to report that this has resulted in embedded and trusted relationships having been forged with clients as is evidenced in a low churn rate, which remains below 5%. 

·     The R&D team has successfully launched a number of new technologies during the period which are aimed at making it easier for clients to exploit their large data sets and freely extend their usage of the platform. 

Most notable are:

o  Rosslyn's data extraction technologies, which the Directors believe have been a key differentiator, were enhanced by a new cloud based delivery mechanism that the Company intends to formally launch at the end of this quarter. This new system enables users to extract data from complex environments such as SAP with greater ease and flexibility. 

o  A new dynamic data management system, which the Directors believe is industry leading and greatly reduces the barriers and complexities clients face when preparing and managing large multifaceted data sets. The Directors believe this new technology will be a material step forward in enhancing the Company's competitive position and the value Rosslyn is able to deliver its clients. 

o  Once the data is extracted into the platform, Rosslyn's unique Domain Specific Language (DSL) enables business users to ask questions in business terms across all their data sets, using a simple and intuitive query application which requires no technical understanding of the data environment. During the period, the Company combined this core IP with a new technology 'Elasticsearch' which has materially enhanced the speeds of queries and, in turn, the amount of data that can be efficiently analysed.

·     Operationally, the firm has hired a number of key individuals and built teams that have given the firm greater operational scalability and predictability.  This has been underpinned by tight financial management and discipline where measurement and accountability runs throughout the firm.

Board Change

Having seen the Company through its IPO and its first year of trading on AIM, Francis Reid, Chief Financial Officer, has informed the Board that he would like to pursue other opportunities and that he wishes to resign as a director and leave the Company in due course. In preparation for this, the Board is pleased to announce that Roger Bullen intends to join Rosslyn as the new Chief Financial Officer on 1 October 2015. Roger is currently Executive Director, International Finance and Operations of Navigant Consulting, Inc., a professional services consultancy and a member of the S&P 400 Index, with an annual turnover of approximately $800m.   Prior to that, Mr Bullen was Vice President, International Finance, Sapient Corporations international operations, a leading technology services consultancy.  Mr Bullen has extensive operational and M&A experience whilst working in public companies and the Board believes that this, together with his broad financial expertise, will help take the Company to the next stage.  Francis has confirmed that he will remain with the Company for a sufficient time to facilitate the hand over to Mr Bullen. Disclosures under schedule 2(g) of the AIM Rules will be made at the time of his appointment.

Charles Clark CEO said, "The Board owes a huge debt of gratitude to Francis who has helped us lead the firm through this challenging and exciting period and has played a central role in this first year as a public company. We all wish him every success in the future."

Francis Reid CFO said, "This has been a fantastic year for Rosslyn and it has been extremely special to have been part of it. I will be leaving the Company in good shape and have every confidence in its continued success."

John O'Hara, Chairman, said "Rosslyn has achieved much in its first year as a public company and the Company is well placed to capitalise on this with what we consider to be industry leading technology and global partners. We look forward to building on this progress and maintaining the positive momentum that has been generated operationally by the team. Roger joins the Company at an exciting time and we thank Francis for his significant contribution."

Enquiries:

Rosslyn Data Technologies plc	Charles Clark, Chief Executive Officer Francis Reid, Chief Financial Officer	[phone]
Blytheweigh - Financial PR	Tim Blythe	[phone] [phone]
	Andrea Benton	[phone] [phone]
Cenkos Securities - Nominated Adviser, Broker	Stephen Keys Mark Connelly	[phone]

Notes to Editors

Rosslyn Data Technologies plc, (AIM: RDT), a leading provider of a Cloud-based enterprise data analytics platform, was founded in 2005 by Charles Clark and Hugh Cox. Business Intelligence was ranked first in the top ten technology priorities for Chief Information Officers in 2012 by Gartner. The Company provides analytical services by combining four key technologies: data extraction; cleansing; enrichment; and visualisation, through a single cloud platform enabling users with detailed data to make more informed decisions. Rosslyn's RAPid platform is the Group's primary product available to its multinational customers, including Aberdeen Asset Management plc, Babcock Corporate Services plc, Xerox Business Services and Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc. Rosslyn Data Technologies plc is the ultimate holding company of the Group and owns 100 per cent. of Rosslyn Analytics Limited.

Further information can also be found on the Company's website at:  www.rosslynanalytics.com

 

END

 

 

TSTEAKSNFLASEFF