25th Jan 2013 07:00
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | 25 January 2013
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GLOBO Plc ("Globo" or the "Group")
Trading Update
Globo Plc (LSE-AIM: GBO) the international mobile solutions and SaaS provider, today issues a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2012.
The Board is pleased to report that Globo has achieved a financial performance for 2012 ahead of market expectations, with revenues expected to have risen by approximately 28 per cent to €58 million (2011: €45.3 million). Revenue in 2012 from continuing operations excluding the eleven month contribution from divested Greek operations was €46 million, compared to the adjusted amount of € 27.8 million in 2011, representing an increase of approximately 66 per cent.
EBITDA for the year is expected to be at least €29 million, an increase of approximately 42 per cent over the previous year. Continuing operations contributed the substantial majority of total profits, ahead of market expectations, being derived mainly from the Group's mobile software product sales which currently represent over 90 per cent of the continuing operations of the Group.
This excellent performance is a result of continued strong demand for Globo's products in the international mobile consumer and enterprise applications markets.
The Group's consumer mobile offerings (CitronGO! and GO!Social) achieved revenue of €29 million for the year, continuing the profitable trend of the past few years with an increase of approximately 25 per cent compared to 2011.
Strategically more important, GO!Enterprise generated sales of more than €12 million representing an increase of approximately 530 per cent compared to the €2 million generated in 2011.
Our acquisition of Dialect Technologies Inc. (recently renamed Globo Mobile Inc) has been successful in all respects. Today it operates as the US operations and sales arm for GO!Enterprise. It has already succeeded in securing a number of initial deals, increasing our confidence that the US market will become a very significant contributor to future Group performance.
At the same time as accelerating international business expansion, the divestment of Greek operations has resulted in a significant positive impact on the Group's business and balance sheet, including a significant increase in profit margins and reduction of outstanding receivables and other current assets, together with the reduction of bank debt and other liabilities.
Operating cash flow for the year has increased significantly to approximately €13 million reflecting the improvement in working capital and collection terms resulting from the growth achieved by the Group's international mobile operations.
The Group continues to carefully invest in its Research and Development facility, investing approximately €11.5 million during the period (2011: €14.5 million).
The Group achieved organic positive free cash for the year, before the impact of acquisitions and disposals, of €1.6 million.
Total borrowings at the end of the year were reduced to €5 million (30 June 2012: €13.6 million) with net cash of €14 million and cash and cash equivalents of €19 million at 31 December 2012.
Outlook for 2013
Globo is currently competing in the international mobile enterprise and consumer markets, positioning itself as one of the leaders in addressing the "Bring Your Own Device" trend.
With significant investments being made in technology and business development initiatives, the Group is aiming to secure and expand its market footprint into the US, UK and Western Europe where the trend is advanced.
Our strategy is to engage with major IT distributors and mobile network operators along with specialised partners such as independent software vendors, integrators, consultants and mobile handset manufacturers.
In the meantime, by including technologies and capabilities such as FMC (fixed mobile convergence), "cloud" provisioning of the GO!Enterprise platform, MDM (mobile device management), NFC (near field communication), HTML5 hybrid coding and others, we will further enhance our product offering.
Our plans for 2013 include, where appropriate, selective acquisitions of technology firms that operate in similar fields of the mobile market focusing on the US and UK.
Globo's Chief Executive Office, Costis Papadimitrakopoulos, commented:
"This was another excellent year for Globo. Starting with the acquisition of Dialect in February and continued demand for our solutions throughout the year, we ended 2012 with a strategic and well executed divestment from our Greek operations.
For us, 2012 was the year in which Globo completed its transformation into a truly international technology vendor in the hottest place in the technology market today - enterprise mobility and BYOD.
For the past 15 years since being founded and throughout the 5 years since being listed on the AIM market, Globo has been delivering sustained growth beyond market expectations driven by the innovation and the passion of its people, whom I would like to thank on behalf of our shareholders.
This is what we aim to continue to do in the years ahead as well"
END
CONTACTS
Globo Plc | +44 20-7378-8828 |
Costis Papadimitrakopoulos, CEO Dimitris Gryparis, Finance Director Mike Jeremy, IRO | |
RBC Capital Markets (Nominated Adviser & Broker) | +44 20-7653-4000 |
Stephen Foss, Pierre Schreuder or Daniel Conti | |
Bankside Consultants |
+44 20-7367-8888 |
Simon Bloomfield
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About GLOBO
GLOBO PLC is an international leader and technology innovator delivering mobile, S.a.aS and telecom software products and services. Globo has established itself as one of the market leaders in the ICT market, offering a wide range of products and services to the corporate, public and consumer market. The Group operates internationally through subsidiaries and offices in US, UK, Europe, Middle East and South East Asia. For more information visit the company's website at www.globoplc.com
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