Write a commentNewry's First Derivatives preliminary results for the year ended 28 February 2018 see revenue up 23% to £186M. Profit before tax was £12.1M down 3% from last year
The year has seen strong growth in software revenue, up 27% as a result of new contract wins and continued penetration of the existing customer base while strategic progression in their managed services and consulting activities resulting in revenue growth of 17%
Highlights
High-profile client wins include a Fortune 500 manufacturing company, a FTSE 100 gaming company and Aston Martin-Red Bull Racing, leading to inbound interest across a range of markets.
Strategic progression in their managed services and consulting activities resulting in revenue growth of 17%
The implementation and ongoing support of a third-party system for a New York-based bank, representing one of the largest contracts in their history
FinTech revenue up 22% to £142.9m (2017: £117.4m), driven by growth in recurring software revenue and an expansion of services provided to clients - MarTech revenue up 24% to £38.2m (2017: £30.7m), driven by growth in subscriptions for our Marketing Cloud platform, powered by our Kx technology
Enormous Market Opportunity
Seamus Keating, Chairman of First Derivatives, commented: “This has been another year where we have combined organic growth with selective investment in the business to realise the enormous market opportunity available to First Derivatives. Prompted by strong demand from our clients, we have continued to penetrate our markets enabling us to deliver our 21st consecutive year of double-digit revenue growth.
"Our ability to capitalise on the investments we have made and the scale of our addressable software market provides us the potential for continued strong growth in future years. While we will continue to invest to stay at the forefront of our field, much has already been done to support our ambitious plans and our current structure is sufficient to achieve significant growth. Recognising that success always requires focus and effort, we nevertheless look to the future with confidence.”
New Contract Wins
Speaking of their year CEO Brian Conlon added "This year has seen exciting progress in our ambitious growth plans, with important new contract wins across all our markets, the strengthening of our technology lead and an expansion of our routes to market. Revenue increased by 23% to £186.0m and, following our investment to target new opportunities, adjusted EBITDA increased by 19% to £34.1m.
Our software revenue grew by 27% with the highlight being our continued progress in penetrating our vast addressable market. In FinTech, revenue was up 22% as our strong market presence translated into further market share gains. In MarTech, increasing awareness of the high return on investment that our solutions deliver, combined with the release of additional functionality, drove revenue growth of 24%. In other markets we remain in ‘launch mode’ with revenue growth of 41% representing a scratch on the surface of the market opportunity."
First Derivatives operates from 14 offices across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, including its headquarters in Newry, and employs more than 2,200 people worldwide.
