Shares in blur (BLUR) rose 6 per cent after the e-service platform owner's first-half sales quadrupled - in spite of a more conservative approach to recognising revenues. However, operating losses widened to $4.8m (£3m) as administrative expenses more than doubled. That was despite a hawkish eye on the head-count, which remained flat at 78 full-time employees.
Perhaps the highlight of the period was the launch of blur 4.0, a mobile-first version of its flagship online platform, where customers submit project briefs and service providers bid for them. The upgrade should attract more mobile users, who currently account for 12 per cent of total usage.
The company tripled its bookings, or the value of projects that have been fully agreed, to $16m. That reflected new clients such as Amazon and Danone as well as a big increase in repeat bookings. The value of projects submitted to blur's platform now stands at $285m, up from $48m a year ago.
The company netted $21m from a fundraising in June. It plans to use the cash to acquire more customers, invest in technology and expand into Asia and elsewhere. Its sizeable cash pile should now tide Blur over until it becomes profitable in 2016.
Broker N+1 Singer expect a pre-tax loss of $8m this year, giving a loss per share of 20.1¢, narrowing to 10.4¢ in 2015.
| BLUR (BLUR) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 88p | MARKET VALUE: | £41m | |
| TOUCH: | 86-89p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 806p | LOW: 59p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | na | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 60¢ | NET CASH: | $24.4m | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover ($m) | Pre-tax profit ($m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 (restated) | 1.4 | -2.3 | -9.0 | nil |
| 2014 | 5.7 | -4.8 | -15.0 | nil |
| % change | +303 | - | - | - |
£1=$1.61 | ||||
