Blackbird PLC, Loopup Group PLC, accesso Technology Group PLC and Keywords Studios PLC among the UK tech stocks reporting this week

The week ahead

In the UK, we anticipate December final results (LON: BIRD), (LON: ALFA), Loopup Group PLC (LON: LOOP), accesso Technology Group PLC (LON: ACSO), (LON: KWS), PLC (LON: SPE),  (LON: TCM), Learning Technologies Group PLC (LON: LTG), (LON: IQG) and  (LON: IQE).  Also, there are interim results ending January for PLC (LON: SCT) and essensys PLC (LON: ESYS).

Alfa Financial Software, which provides software for the asset finance industry, announces final results tomorrow.  In its trading update in mid-December, it said that the positive momentum had continued with strong performances in both October and November, and it anticipated that December would also be better than previously expected. Late last month the company pushed revenue guidance ahead by £4mln as a result of a change in revenue recognition in a recently won contract extension, due to there being no associated implementation project.

Loopup, which offers a cloud platform for premium external communications, announces final results tomorrow.  In a trading update in early February, the company confirmed that it expects fiscal year 2020 (FY20) revenue to be about £50.2mln (FY19: £42.5mln) and underlying earnings (EBITDA) to be about £15.3mln (FY19: £6.4mln). These numbers look cheap in relation to the market capitalisation of just £42mln; however, consensus forecasts are pointing to a sharp downturn in FY21. The group ended the year with gross cash of £12.1mln and net debt of £0.7mln.

accesso Technology, which provides technology solutions to the leisure, entertainment and cultural markets, announces final results tomorrow. In a trading update in late January, it said that the solid trading performance reported in the November update had continued through the remainder of 2020, particularly over the festive period in North America. Consequently, the group expected to deliver FY20 revenue of not less than US$55.0mln, which was ahead of the board’s previous expectations. Net cash at the end of the year is expected to be just below US$30.0mln. The company said that the strong fourth-quarter (Q4) trading performance indicated that, despite the pandemic, the underlying market opportunity remained intact and the group continues to perform strongly when customer venues are open; however, due to the recent acceleration of the COVID-19 pandemic and the varied pace of vaccine deployment, trading will likely continue to be affected by lower venue attendance over the first half of 2021.

essensys, which provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms and on-demand cloud services to the flexible workspace industry, announces interim results on Tuesday. In its February trading update, the company said it expects to report first-half revenue in line with management expectations at £10.6mln. This was supported by a strong performance from its US business, which saw its recurring revenue increase by 18{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} to £4.42mln despite the continued impact of Covid-19. The group’s total annualised recurring revenue (ARR) run rate grew slightly to £19.9mln from £19.7mln in the prior period, on a constant currency basis.  The company said that adjusted EBITDA for the half-year is expected to be in line with management expectations and the group ended the period with net cash of £5.9mln, which was also in line with management expectations.

Keywords Studios, which provides services to the global video games industry, announces final results on Wednesday. In its trading update in late January, it said it expects to produce 12{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} organic revenue growth for FY20 despite COVID-19 constraints.  The company expects revenue and adjusted profit before tax to be €373mln and €55mln, respectively, which is marginally ahead of the guidance issued in late November.  Year-end net cash is expected to be around €100mln. Since the share placement in May, the group has made eight acquisitions. This includes the latest acquisition announced last week – an 85{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} stake Tantalus Media for up to US$46.8mln – which marks the group’s entry into the Australian video games market. Also last week, the company announced that Andrew Day, CEO, would take a temporary leave of absence from the business for health reasons. Jon Hauck and Sonia Sedler have been appointed as joint interim CEOs alongside their existing roles.

, the UK provider of IT infrastructure technology and services, announces interim results on Tuesday. In a brief trading update in early January, the company said that trading had continued to be positive since the Q1 statement in November. It said that demand from public sector customers had remained strong while the corporate picture had continued to improve but was also somewhat mixed. Following the seasonally important December trading period, the company said it was significantly ahead of where it expected to be at this stage. However, it noted that the second half remained difficult to forecast.

, which provides software and services for product life cycle management, announces annual results on Wednesday. FY20 revenue is expected to be around US$30mlm, in line with FY19, with adjusted EBITDA slightly lower at US$5.6mln (FY19: US$6.4mln). More importantly, annualised recurring revenues (ARR) are expected to rise by 13{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} to US$18mln. Consequently, FY21 revenue visibility, which includes services order book, stands at US$22mln, up 23{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} from US$18.9mln a year earlier.  The total contract value (TCV) of the signed software-as-a-service (SaaS) business grew by 274{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} year on year.

Telit Communications, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), announces final results on Wednesday. In its trading update in January, it said that FY20 revenues are expected to be US$343.0mln (FY19: US$382.8mln excluding automotive), reflecting a decline of 10.4{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of US$38-$41mln (FY19: US$38.2mln including two months EBITDA contribution from the automotive business). Last week the company said that DBAY, its largest shareholder with a 26.02{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} stake, is in discussions with the company regarding a possible offer for Telit.

Learning Technologies, which provides services and technologies for digital learning and talent management, announces final results on Thursday. In its trading update in late January, it said it expects FY20 revenues to be not less than £131.0mln (FY19: £130.1mln).  Recurring revenues increased to circa 80{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} of the total revenues (FY19: 74{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca}) as a solid performance in the Software & Platforms division countered a decline in Content & Services which was due to the impact of COVID-19.  Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) are expected to be ahead of consensus and not less than £40.0mln (FY19: £41.0mln), while the year-end net cash position of £70.2mln was significantly ahead of the consensus of £59.6mln. After the period end, the group has made three acquisitions – Reflektive for US$14.2mln, The People Development Team for an initial £13.2mln and Bridge for US$50mln.

IQGeo, which provides geospatial productivity and collaboration software for telecoms and utility network operators, announces final results on Thursday. In its January trading update, it said it is seeing continued strong market demand as both telecoms and utilities markets have been less affected than other sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. It expects FY20 revenue to be not less than £9.0mln (FY19: £7.8mln) with own-product revenue expected to grow by some 30{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} to more than £7.0mln. The strategy of converting the business to a recurring revenue model continues to show good momentum with roughly 35{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} of total revenues now recurring, up from 21{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} in FY19. The ARR run rate as at December is expected to be around £5.3mln, up from £2.0mln in FY19, reflecting 65{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} organic growth and £2.0mln from OSPI, which was acquired in December. Gross margins have improved considerably and the group expects to report a significantly reduced adjusted EBITDA loss of around £2.5mln (2019: loss of £4.8mln). The group had net cash of £10.5mln at the year-end, with gross cash of £11.1mln including the US Government PPP loan, the repayment of which is expected to be waived. After the period end, the group received £2.5mln from the sale of the residual interest in the group’s former RTLS business. Following the update, the group has won a £1.3mln two-year order with a major telecoms network operator that serves more than 3.2mln customers in central and western Canada.

IQE, which manufactures advanced semiconductor wafer products and materials solutions for the global semiconductor industry, announces final results on Thursday. In its January trading update, it said that FY20 revenue is expected to be about £178mln, subject to external audit review (2019: £140mln). This is consistent with previously issued guidance of at least £170mln and represents over 25{f08ff3a0ad7db12f5b424ba38f473ff67b97b420df338baa81683bbacd458fca} year-on-year growth. The group closed the year with a net cash position of around £2mln. The company said that trading remained favourable in the final quarter of 2020 and it enters 2021 with positive momentum in both the Wireless and Photonics business units.

Across the pond, it remains quiet on the earnings front with Adobe expected to be the highlight, reporting Q1 numbers (February period end) on Thursday. Other tech-related companies reporting include Synnex, Riot Blockchain, , QAD, and Momo.  Additionally, Intel is hosting its Intel Unleashed: Engineering the Future event tomorrow afternoon, eastern standard time, with the new chief executive Pat Gelsinger giving a business update and outlining Intel’s new strategy for innovation and technology leadership.

Source: Data from regulatory news and company websites