14th Aug 2019 09:13
(Alliance News) - Avast PLC on Wednesday said it expects like-for-like revenue to increase by high single-digits in 2019 following strong performance in the first half.
The stock was trading 7.8% higher on Wednesday at 353.00 pence a share, making it the second-best performer among the mid-caps in London.
The cybersecurity provider reported pretax profit for the six months to the end of June of USD186.0 million, up 14% compared to USD162.7 million a year earlier, as revenue rose 5.8% to USD426.8 million from USD403.3 million.
On a like-for-like basis, the FTSE 250-listed company said its adjusted billings increased year-on-year by 13%, excluding the currency impact, and 9.2% in actual rates to USD454.6 million from USD416.5 million. New product launches in the first half of 2018 in both Consumer Direct Desktop and Consumer Indirect contributed to the "strong" billings growth, Avast explained.
"The strategic advantage of our global consumer platform model shows clearly in these results, with strong revenue growth driven by cross-sell promotions within the installed user base," said Chief Executive Ondrej Vlcek.
Avast proposed an interim payout of 4.4 US cents a share, which will be paid in October. In the first half of 2018, the company did not make any distributions. Avast listed on the London Main Market in May of last year.
Looking forward, Avast said its first-half performance gives it confidence for a strong full-year outcome. The antivirus software maker said it expect like-for-like revenue growth in 2019 to be at the upper end of the previously stated high single-digit percentage range.
"We are very excited about the opportunity ahead," added Vlcek.
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