TIDMUTW
RNS Number : 7855K
Utilitywise plc
21 April 2015
Under embargo until 7am, 21 April 2015
Utilitywise plc
("Utilitywise" or the "Company")
Interim Results
for the six months ended 31 January 2015
Utilitywise, a leading independent utility cost management
consultancy, is pleased to announce its financial results for the
six months ended 31 January 2015.
Financial Highlights
-- Revenue increased 42% to GBP29.9m (H1 2014: GBP21.0m)
-- Adjusted EBITDA* increased 42% to GBP7.7m (H1 2014: GBP5.4m)
-- Adjusted Pre-tax profit** increase of 49% to GBP7.3m ( H1 2014: GBP4.9m)
-- Adjusted fully diluted EPS*** increased 41% to 7.2p (H1 2014: 5.1p)
-- Proposed interim dividend increased 55% to 1.7p (H1 2014: 1.1p)
-- Net cash of GBP1.6m (H1 2014: (GBP0.1m))
*Adjusted for share based payments of GBP366k (H1 2014: adjusted
for share based payments of GBP411k)
** Adjusted for share based payments of GBP366k and amortisation
of IFRS3 intangibles of GBP531k (H1 2014: adjusted for share based
payments of 411k and amortisation of IFRS3 intangibles of
GBP452k)
*** Adjusted for share based payments of GBP366k (H1 2014:
GBP411k), amortisation of IFRS3 intangibles of GBP531k (H1 2014:
GBP452k) and the tax impact of those adjustments of (GBP162k) (H1
2014: GBP181k)
Corporate Highlights
-- Successful move to new corporate headquarters
-- Energy consultants increased 29% to 449 (H1 2014: 347)
-- Total group headcount up 16% to 884 (H1 2014: 761)
-- New initiatives such as ESOS and water de-regulation in
Scotland resourced to drive new revenue opportunities
Post period highlights
-- Energy consultants increased to 549 (22% increase post period end)
-- Total group headcount up 14% to 1,011
-- Secured revenue as at 31 March 2015 at GBP26m
-- Group customer numbers at 23,109 at 31 March 2015
-- Acquisition of T-mac announced today
Geoff Thompson, Chief Executive of Utilitywise, commented:
"The Group has continued to make progress with impressive growth
in both revenue and EBITDA. During the period, we both extended
contracts for existing customers and continued to secure new
customers, providing further validation of the strength of our
proposition and the important differentiation we have achieved
through the on-going development of our energy management products
and services.
"The move to our new Head Office was completed on schedule and
on budget in November 2014, enabling us to accelerate the
recruitment of additional staff in order to drive future growth and
the progress with this is in line with our plans. New customer
acquisition remains an important priority and, in line with this,
we are pleased to report that March 2015 represented the highest
monthly customer acquisition performance for the Group in its
history.
"A significant market opportunity exists for continued
profitable growth and we look forward to a second half of continued
positive momentum."
For further information:
Utilitywise PLC 0870 626 0559
Geoff Thompson, CEO
Andrew Richardson, Deputy CEO
Jon Kempster, CFO
finnCap (NOMAD and joint broker) 020 7220 0500
Matt Goode / Grant Bergman (Corporate
Finance)
Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking)
Liberum (Joint broker) 020 3100 2000
Robert Morton / Steve Pearce
Redleaf PR 020 7382 4730
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett / David
Ison
About Utilitywise
Utilitywise is a leading independent utility cost management
consultancy based in North Tyneside. The Group has established
trading relationships with a number of major UK energy suppliers
and provides services to its customers designed to assist them in
achieving better value out of their energy contracts, reduced
energy consumption and lower carbon footprint.
Businesses large and small rely on Utilitywise for their energy
management needs. Clients range in size from high street shops to
multinationals with thousands of sites and cover the whole of the
UK. In total, Utilitywise has over 23,000 customers.
Utilitywise is a UK company quoted on the AIM market of the
London Stock Exchange. For more information, please visit
www.utilitywise.com.
Chief Executive's Statement
I am pleased to report on the continued strong performance of
the Group delivering another period of impressive revenue and
profit growth and making good progress on a number of strategic
goals whilst driving growth in all of our KPIs.
Alongside driving our financial and operational performance, we
ensure that we do not lose sight of continued quality assurance for
our customers. Our focus on operational excellence has continued
with our Trusted Advisor strategy being deployed, a strong positive
Net Promoter Score which is independently managed, and a continued
focus on the customer journey.
KPIs
Six months Six months
to January to January
2015 2014 Change
Energy consultants at period
end 449 347 +29%
Secured pipeline (gross
secured future unrecognised
revenue) at period end GBP23.5m GBP23.8m (1)%
Total Group customers 22,048 17,903 +23%
We also regard the main financial indicators such as revenue,
gross profit and EBITDA as important measures and these are
disclosed as such throughout.
Progress by division
During the period the Group operated from two distinct
divisions. The performance of both divisions is reported separately
and as such we have chosen to discuss our Enterprise and Corporate
divisions in turn below.
Enterprise
Our Enterprise division is the foundation of the Utilitywise
business, focusing on small, medium and multi-site opportunities.
We have well established trading relationships with a number of
major UK energy suppliers and provide services to our customers
designed to assist them in achieving better value from their energy
contracts. Utilitywise negotiates rates with energy suppliers on
behalf of business customers and provides an account care
service.
Revenue in the division grew 47% to GBP24.3m (H1 2014: GBP16.5m)
with gross profit increasing 51% to GBP10.6m (H1 2014: GBP7.0m).
This growth was despite operating from a similar revenue generating
average headcount as the increase in Energy Consultants was made
after we moved offices and towards the end of the reporting period.
EBITDA increased 37% to GBP5.8m (H1 2014: GBP4.2m). In addition, we
have seen a consistent renewal rate above 80% by meter volume for
our Enterprise customers.
During the period, recruitment plans are in line with
expectations with the number of Energy Consultants increasing to
449 as at 31 January 2015, and 549 as at 31 March 2015.
The longer term growth in our Enterprise Division is supported
by the continued development of our multi-channel approach to the
market ensuring we give the business customer the choice of how to
engage with us when assisting them on a variety of utility
management needs.
Extensions
A feature of the first half was an increase in revenue from
extensions compared to the first half last year. As detailed in the
13 February 2015 trading update, following the introduction of new,
longer term energy supply contracts by several energy suppliers,
Utilitywise focused on extending and renewing energy contracts for
its existing customers during the period. We successfully extended
contracts for existing customers which both strengthened customer
relationships whilst securing revenue, profit and cash flow over
the longer term for the Company. These extensions both secured
further price certainty for customers and generated revenue for the
Group in the period. Renewal and extension revenue represented
approximately 42% of Enterprise revenue in the period up from 32%
in H1 2014.
With this type of contract, 85% of revenue is recognised when
the contract is renewed or extended. These contracts are not
included in the Company's secured pipeline.
Although extensions will continue to be a feature going forward,
post period end we have increased our efforts towards the
acquisition of new customers, which we have been successful in
converting.
New customer acquisition
We continued to increase our contracted customers during the
period, increasing the total customer base to 22,048 as at 31
January 2015 (H1 2014: 17,903). This represents an increase of 23%
when compared to 31 January 2014. 58% of revenues in the period
came from new customers.
The value of the Company's new contracts are added to its
secured pipeline once the contract is signed, and on its go live
date, 85% of the value of the contract is recognised as revenue and
up to 80% of the cash associated with the contract is due.
New customer acquisition has continued to be an important
priority for the Group. I am pleased to report that as at the 31
March 2015 we have secured 1,061 new customers since the period
end. March represented the highest monthly customer acquisition
performance for the Group in its history.
Corporate
The Corporate division consists of a broad array of products and
services designed to assist companies with greater energy needs to
manage their energy consumption.
During the period, the Corporate division enjoyed good revenue
growth with revenue in the division increasing 37% to GBP6.1m (H1
2014: GBP4.5m) and gross profit increasing 43% to GBP2.9m (H1 2014:
GBP2.0m). This growth was supported by significant customer wins in
the medium sized business space. EBITDA increased 61% to GBP1.9m
(H1 2014: GBP1.2m). The renewal rate by meter volume increased to
98%.
Group
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