Oxford Metrics (OMG) set out a clear aim in December: by the 2021 financial year it will have doubled profits and tripled recurring revenues. Although headline profit numbers may suggest the analytics software provider has got off to a bad start, chief executive Nick Bolton reassures that it is making good progress. Indeed, recurring revenue increased 13 per cent to £4.3m and now contributes a third of the overall top line. Meanwhile, pre-tax profit is expected to pick up substantially in FY2018 and FY2019 after heady investment in the current financial year.
Hopes rest with the newly launched Alloy business, part of the group's infrastructure management subsidiary, Yotta. Alloy is a cloud-based software platform for effectively managing local infrastructure, including road networks, and Mr Bolton expects its superiority over rivals will help it win new global customers. To focus more on this new, high recurring revenue subsidiary, the group has put the older surveying business up for sale. Its numbers have therefore been extracted from these results.
Meanwhile, motion sensor software business Vicon continues to attract the attention of game, film and virtual reality producers. In the reported period, the software was used in the development of blockbuster film A Monster Calls.
Broker N+1 Singer expects pre-tax profits of £3.5m and EPS of 2.3p in the year to September 2017 (from £5.1m and 3.6p in FY2016).
OXFORD METRICS (OMG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 53p | MARKET VALUE: | £65m | |
| TOUCH: | 52.5-54p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 55p | LOW: 41p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.9% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 22p* | NET CASH: | £11.1m | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 (restated) | 11.0 | 1.65 | 1.08 | nil |
| 2017 | 12.9 | 1.47 | 1.26 | nil |
| % change | +17 | -11 | +17 | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na *Includes intangible assets of £11.1m, or 9p a share | ||||
