StatPro Group PLC (LON:SOG) has seen its earnings rise by around a third in 2018, boosted by “robust” sales of its services in the fourth quarter.
In a trading update for the full year, the firm said its adjusted underlying earnings (EBITDA) were expected to have risen 32% to £9mln with margins growing to 16% from 13.9%. Revenues were predicted to be up 11% at £54.7mln.
READ: StatPro up as it secures US$1.5mln contract for Revolution service with US asset manager
StatPro provides cloud-based portfolio analysis and asset pricing services for the global asset management industry.
The group’s annualised recurring revenue (ARR), money that comes in every year for the life of a subscription contract, also grew by 4% to £55.7mln, with the ARR for its StatPro Revolution service rising 17% organically.
ARR renewal rates also jumped during the year to 92% from 89% in 2017.
The group’s net debt at the end of the year stood at £24.6mln, up from 20.2mln the year before, which the group said reflected its acquisition and investments in ODDO-BHF, Investor Analytics and Infovest.
StatPro acquired the regulatory risk services arm from ODDO-BHF, a Franco-German financial services group, in July last year for an undisclosed sum.
Justin Wheatley, StatPro’s chief executive, said sales for the group in the fourth quarter had been “robust”, achieving higher organic growth in ARR for its Revolution service. He also said overall the group had signed 20 clients for contracts of over US$100,000 per annum.
“We are focused on improving our margins and have delivered a significant increase in adjusted EBITDA margin in 2018 - this remains a focus for the current year”, Wheatley added.
In mid-morning trading Wednesday, StatPro shares were down 0.8% at 125.5p.
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