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RNS Number : 2349W
Shearwater Group PLC
22 April 2021
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes
of Article 7 of EU Regulation 596/2014 (as amended), which forms
part of domestic UK law pursuant to the European Union (Withdrawal)
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be in the public domain.
22 April 2021
SHEARWATER GROUP PLC
("Shearwater", or the "Group")
Post Close Trading Update
Second half momentum; underlying EBITDA expected to be ahead of
expectations
Shearwater Group plc, the organisational resilience group which
provides cybersecurity, advisory and managed security services, is
pleased to provide the following post close trading update for the
financial year ended 31 March 2021(1) .
Following a robust second half of trading, and subject to audit,
the Group expects to report FY21 underlying EBITDA(2) in excess of
GBP3.6 million (FY20: GBP3.4m), ahead of market expectations.
Revenue of GBP31.8m was delivered in the year (FY20: GBP33.0m),
reflecting a substantial increase in sales activity converted
across the second half and strong margin improvement.
Over the past 12 months the Group's balance sheet has
significantly strengthened. Cash collection also exceeded
expectations, resulting in unaudited net cash(3) balances of GBP7.3
million as at 31 March 2021 (31 March 2020: GBP1.4m net debt), of
which GBP1.3m will be applied towards the settlement of deferred
VAT payments relating to FY21 revenues.
Shearwater delivered very strong trading in H2 FY21 with year on
year revenues for the six months up by 24% on the same period in
the prior year. Revenue was driven by new client wins and several
high value contract renewals. The Group noted numerous positive
signs of returning business confidence, including the early
commencement of the previously announced GBP3.6m project to monitor
and provide support to next generation mobile communications which
had initially been scheduled to commence in Q1 FY22.
A particular demonstration of execution on strategy was the
success of the Group's cross-selling initiatives seen over the
year, which contributed in excess of GBP500,000 of revenue in FY21.
There are good opportunities to expand these projects, and many new
leads, generated through cross-company introductions, remain in the
pipeline.
The Group also continued to invest in innovation, further
developing its SaaS based Secure Identity & Access Management
Platform in the period. Demand for this offering is set to increase
substantially and represents an exciting opportunity for the
business as hybrid working is adopted as routine. Shearwater's
platform is well positioned to take market share in this area.
The Group remains committed to making acquisitions in line with
its buy, focus, grow strategy and strict acquisition criteria. It
has an active pipeline of M&A opportunities.
The Group expects to publish its audited results for the
financial year ended 31 March 2021 in July 2021.
Phil Higgins, Group Chief Executive Officer of Shearwater,
commented:
"I am very proud of what Shearwater has achieved in the year,
navigating Covid-19 related challenges and continuing to both renew
contracts with existing customers and to secure new business to
deliver underlying EBITDA ahead of market expectations. This
performance reflects the strength of our offering and the growing
demand for organisational resilience services, alongside the
recovery of more normalised patterns of decision making as greater
macro-economic confidence begins to return.
"The majority of our businesses are reporting a solid increase
in enquires, quotations and consulting utilisation for Q1 of the
new financial year, in comparison to the same period last year. We
are very encouraged by the uplift in market activity and remain
confident of our ability to capitalise on the numerous
opportunities for growth going forward, both organic and in the
consolidation of the market. Whilst inevitably, uncertainty
remains, we are well-placed to now return to driving growth in the
business over the coming year and beyond, delivering value to all
our stakeholders."
(1) All figures unaudited
(2) Underlying EBITDA is defined as profit before tax, before
one off exceptional items, share based payment charges, finance
charges, impairment of intangible assets, fair value adjustments to
deferred consideration, contingent consideration depreciation and
amortisation.
(3) Net cash includes gross cash on hand less loans and drawings
against RCF (excluding lease liabilities).
Enquiries:
Shearwater Group plc www.shearwatergroup.com
David Williams c/o Alma PR
Phil Higgins
Cenkos Securities plc - NOMAD and
Joint Broker
Max Hartley / Ben Jeynes - NOMAD
Julian Morse / Michael Johnson
- Sales +44 (0) 20 7397 8900
Berenberg - Joint Broker
Matthew Armitt / Mark Whitmore +44 (0) 20 3207 7800
Alma PR shearwater@almapr.co.uk
Susie Hudson / Caroline Forde / +44 (0) 20 3405 0205
Harriet Jackson
About Shearwater Group plc
Shearwater Group plc is an award-winning organisational
resilience group that provides cybersecurity, advisory and managed
security services to help assure and secure businesses in a
connected global economy.
The Group's comprehensive cybersecurity solutions and services
maintain trust between users, assure the protection of information
assets and critical infrastructure, and support organisations'
operational effectiveness. Its capabilities include identity and
access management and data security, cybersecurity solutions and
managed security services, and security governance, risk and
compliance.
The Group is headquartered in the UK, serving customers across
the globe who are active in a broad spectrum of industries.
Shearwater shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange's AIM
under the ticker "SWG". For more information, please visit
www.shearwatergroup.com.
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