Wishpond Technologies Ltd. (TSX-V:WISH, OTCQX:WPNDF) told investors it achieved its fourth consecutive quarter of positive adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA), demonstrating its commitment to profitable growth.
Releasing second-quarter and first-half results for the period to June 30, 2023, Wishpond founder and CEO Ali Tajskandar noted that the company generated $400,000 of positive adjusted EBITDA during the first six months of 2023 compared with an adjusted EBITDA loss of $600,000 in the corresponding period last year — an improvement of over $1 million.
“Wishpond's cost optimization efforts over the past year have contributed to the company's positive adjusted EBITDA profile,” Tajskandar said.
“Based on the company's performance and growth momentum in the first half of the year, we expect to deliver strong results for the remainder of 2023. We maintain a positive outlook for the second half of 2023, with continued sales growth and improving cash flows.”
During the quarter, the company made its sixth acquisition as it completed the purchase of Essential Studio Manager LLC (ESM).
Tajskandar said ESM further expands the breadth of Wishpond’s product offering into invoicing, CRM (customer relationship management) and business management functionality.
In addition, he said the company is actively working on developing additional artificial intelligence (AI)-powered marketing tools which it plans to launch in the coming quarters.
“Finally, our new Propel IQ platform is gaining traction in the market, and early signs are showing higher margins and increased customer retention,” Tajskandar added.
“We are now accelerating the hiring of new sales resources to drive additional growth in the second half of the year.”
For the quarter, Wishpond grew revenue by 13% to $5.64 million on the back of organic growth resulting from stronger product demand, an increase in sales and marketing activities, and new product introductions.
Gross profit improved by 10% to $3.68 million, with a gross margin percentage of 65%, while adjusted EBITDA swung to $215,926 from an adjusted EBITDA loss of $192,196 a year earlier.
It ended the period with cash of $1.1 million and no debt.
"I am pleased to report that the company has not felt any material negative impacts due to increasing interest rates, rising inflation or other macroeconomic effects,” Wishpond CFO David Pais concluded.
“We have a clean balance sheet and an undrawn line of credit of $6 million, and our cost reduction strategies will allow us to fund the company's growth through cash from operations. We look forward to reporting higher revenue growth and profitability for the rest of the year.”
The company said it expects to achieve record revenue and cash flows in 2023, driven by organic growth from increasing sales of its new Propel IQ bundled product, in addition to ramping up the size of its sales team and launching new AI-powered products.
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