This was a year of investment for Oxford Metrics (OMG), as it launched the first stage of a five-year programme to “amplify the core” of the business. Encouragingly, recurring revenue was up 22 per cent year on year to £4.9m. But top-line momentum waned further down the income statement, after expenditure on accelerating growth within Yotta – the division focused on cloud-based software products.
Yotta sales climbed from £5.9m to £6.6m, with growth in both software and consulting services. Elsewhere, the Alloy platform was launched, enabling infrastructure owners – including local authorities – to manage assets including highways and street lights. Alloy contributed just one month’s performance to this reporting period, but still won three licences in the UK and three in Australia.
Vicon, the segment developing motion measurement software, launched three new products. These included Shogun, which improves users’ ability to process animations, while reducing product costs. In June, bosses also acquired IMeasureU, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) tracking specialist, for £1.99m – which could rise to £4.88m, depending on performance. This expands Vicon’s addressable market, giving it a strong foothold in elite sports; coaches can use IMU sensors to track athletes’ training and recovery from injury.
Analysts at N+1 Singer forecast adjusted pre-tax profit of £5.2m and EPS of 3.2p for the year to September 2018, up from £3.9m and 2.7p in FY2017.
| OXFORD METRICS (OMG) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 62p | MARKET VALUE: | £76m | |
| TOUCH: | 61-63p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 68p | LOW: 45p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.9% | PE RATIO: | 24 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 22p* | NET CASH: | £9.8m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2013 | 27.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.40 |
| 2014 | 25.6 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0.50 |
| 2015 | 25.7 | 4.8 | 3.9 | 0.65 |
| 2016 | 26.3 | 5.1 | 3.9 | 1.00 |
| 2017 | 29.2 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 1.20 |
| % change | +11 | -28 | -35 | +20 |
| Ex-div: | 14 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 8 Mar | |||
| *Includes intangible assets of £12.1m, or 10p a share | ||||
