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Accesso: a global ticket to ride

The provider of ticketing and queuing software enhanced its global presence and boosted revenue, but acquisition costs dampened profit
September 22, 2017

Accesso Technology's (ACSO) executive chairman Tom Burnet says his company is “not even touching the sides on where we can go”, in terms of its expansion into international markets. The provider of smart ticketing and queuing software enhanced its global presence only last week, via a contract with Village Roadshow: Australia’s largest theme park operator. Its relationship with Merlin Entertainments (MERL)  is also global, with projects outside of the UK including Legoland Japan.

IC TIP: Hold at 1,830p

First-half revenue growth was encouraging but pre-tax profit was dented by the acquisition of Ingresso in March, for a total potential consideration of $35m (£26m). A global distribution system, Ingresso connects e-commerce sites such as lastminute.com with event ticketing platforms, in addition to its own services for event producers. Excluding acquisition-related expenses, adjusted cash profits rose 34 per cent to $8.7m.

Bosses say the company is about two-thirds of the way through implementing accesso Passport, a general admission ticketing platform, across Merlin’s global venues. Meanwhile, a partnership with Mexico’s Experiencias Xcaret resorts marked the biggest ever contract for accesso’s Siriusware platform, which has a range of retail add-ons.

Net debt rose to $23.8m from $12.5m, after additional borrowings tied to the Ingresso acquisition. And cash generation from operations fell from $2.2m to $1.7m, in line with seasonal trends.

Analysts at Numis forecast pre-tax profit of $15.1m and EPS of 47.2¢ for FY2017, down from $15.3m and 51.5¢ in 2016.

ACCESSO TECHNOLOGY (ACSO)  
ORD PRICE:1,830pMARKET VALUE:£481m
TOUCH:1,800-1,860p12-MONTH HIGH:2,020pLOW: 1,381p
DIVIDEND YIELD:naPE RATIO:78
NET ASSET VALUE:309¢*NET DEBT:29%
Half-year to 30 JunTurnover ($m)Pre-tax profit (£m)Earnings per share (¢)Dividend per share (¢)
201639.72.257.36nil
201746.61.614.96nil
% change+17-28-33nil
Ex-div:na   
Payment:na   

*Includes intangible assets of $116m, or 442¢ a share

£1=$1.35