Oxford Metrics hurdles Covid-19 threat

Revenue was down 6.5 per cent on the first half of 2019, to £15m, as global operational shutdowns delayed £1.1m in orders from the Vicon division. Following the end of the reporting period, most of these orders have now been delivered. As a result of the delay and costs being flat, Oxford Metrics fell to an operating loss of £57,000 in the first half, compared with a £1.2m profit in the same period in 2019. 

Chief executive Nick Bolton said that while there was still uncertainty over the company’s UK and US sales, business has started to pick up in the Asia-Pacific region. Japan is Oxford Metrics’ third-largest individual market, behind the UK and US, generating sales of £1.9m in the first half. Games company Konami has signed on as a customer, as well as Chinese giant Tencent. 

Its Yotta software-as-a-service (SaaS) division sells mostly to local governments on a contract basis, so while revenue is stable, new sales are the only way to truly grow. While sales were up for Yotta, it fell into an underlying pre-tax loss of £0.5m, compared with a £0.2m loss in the previous period. Local governments have been squeezed by the pandemic, with many already struggling as revenue staples such as parking tickets fall dramatically.