28th Aug 2024 17:26
(Alliance News) - Datalex PLC on Wednesday said it raised EUR25.0 million, with the bulk of that sum going towards repaying a loan.
The Dublin-based software company, which specialises in digital retail technology for the airline market, raised the sum through a placing, firm placing and open offer at EUR0.45 per share. A total of 55.5 million new shares have been issued.
The proceeds will go towards repaying a loan provided by Tireragh, a firm owned by Dermot Desmond. Desmond owns Datalex's largest shareholder IIU Nominees. Datalex owns around EUR18.9 million of the loan.
"The funds will be used to strengthen the group's balance sheet and will, in particular, enable a deleveraging of the group by way of the repayment of the outstanding Tireragh loan, and the transition to a more sustainable capital structure for the group," Datalex said.
Earlier Wednesday, Datalex said it remained optimistic about its growth prospects for the year ahead, but warned of the impact of non-recurring revenue after seeing service sales fall in the first half.
For the six months ended June 30, total revenue of USD13.2 million, up 3% from USD12.9 million a year prior.
Platform revenue rose 14% to USD7.2 million from USD6.3 million, which Datalex attributed to the "ongoing activation of product capabilities", while consultancy revenue rose 40% to USD545,000 from USD388,000.
By contrast, services revenue fell 11% to USD5.5 million from USD6.1 million. According to the firm, this decline occurred because revenue from Scandinavian Airlines and Virgin Australia didn't recur, offsetting positive momentum with existing customers.
Adjusted loss before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation narrowed to USD2.0 million from USD3.1 million a year prior. Gross profit was up 25% to USD3.8 million from USD3.0 million.
"Looking at the first half of 2024, I am pleased at the continued progress we have made in building a solid foundation for future growth," said Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Rockett.
"When I look at 2024 as a full year, the year on year revenue growth will be held back by some non-recurring revenue from 2023. However, we expect to see several positive steps that will start to come to fruition in the year but will be more evident in 2025. We do expect 2024 will be another year of platform growth and gross margin expansion which points to this positive trajectory for the business."
Datalex shares closed 4.8% higher at EUR0.398 each in Dublin on Wednesday.
By Eric Cunha, Alliance News news editor
Comments and questions to [email protected]
Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.