12 June 2025

Idox plc

Half Year results for the six months ended 30 April 2025

Positive momentum continues with good first half performance

 

Idox plc (AIM: IDOX, 'Idox', 'the Company' or 'the Group'), a leading supplier of specialist information management software and geospatial data solutions to the public and asset-intensive sectors, is pleased to announce its unaudited half year results for the six months ended 30 April 2025 ('H1 FY25').

 

Financial highlights

	H1 FY25	H1 FY24	% change
Revenue:
Revenue	£45.0m	£43.1m	4%
Recurring Revenues1	£29.8m	£27.4m	9%
Profit:
Adjusted2 EBITDA	£13.9m	£13.1m	6%
Adjusted2 EBITDA margin	31%	30%	-
Statutory operating profit	£6.4m	£5.7m	14%
Adjusted3 diluted EPS	1.48p	1.26p	17%
Statutory diluted EPS	0.92p	0.71p	30%
Cash:
Free cashflow5	£13.6m	£13.0m	5%
Cash generated from operating activities before taxation as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA	141%	149%	-
Net cash4 / (debt)	£0.2m	£(6.6)m	N/A

 

 

Operational highlights - record intake and new wins

·    Record first half order intake of £58.7m, up 9% from H1 FY24 (£54.1m), providing increasing levels of revenue visibility for the remainder of FY25 and into FY26.

·    Strong wins from existing and new customers including North Yorkshire Council, Calderdale Borough Council, Swansea Council, the Welsh Government, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and Pacificorp.

·    Continued progress on further developing the Group's geospatial capabilities and revenue including new wins with customers including Vodafone.

·    Healthy M&A pipeline with good progress on a number of strategic targets.

·    Acquisition of Plianz, a UK-based provider of Health and Social Care software solutions, shortly after the period end for initial enterprise value of £7.65m in cash.

·    Continued growth of India operation in Pune, which now employs over 100 colleagues with further ongoing recruitment to support growth ambition.

 

 

Current trading and outlook - good visibility for the remainder of the year

·    A combination of strong growth in recurring revenue and an active bidding pipeline, provides good revenue visibility for the remainder of FY25 and into FY26.

·    The business continues to perform well and in line with the Board's expectations.

·    Intention to pay a final dividend in line with the Group's stated dividend policy.

 

 

 

David Meaden, Chief Executive Officer of Idox said:

 

"Idox has delivered a good financial performance in the first half of 2025 in line with the Board's expectations, with increased total revenue, recurring revenue, profitability and cash generation, putting the Group in its strongest position ever.

 

A clear focus on, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve, continues to provide us with excellent opportunities to support new and existing customers. The breadth and depth of our services delivered via our outstanding people offers further opportunities for organic growth.

 

We have a proven track record of identifying, acquiring and integrating strategic assets into Idox and were pleased to complete the acquisition of Plianz shortly after the period end to strengthen our existing Health and Social Care offering. Our M&A pipeline remains healthy, and we remain confident of adding to our existing portfolio of specialist software and geospatial data solutions to deliver further profitable growth.

 

We are pleased with the progress made and positive momentum meaning the Group is well positioned to deliver on our full-year expectations."

 

 

There will be a webcast at 9:30am UK time today for analysts and investors. To register for the webcast please contact MHP at idox@mhpgroup.com

 

For further information please contact:

 

Idox plc	+44 (0) 870 333 7101
Chris Stone, Non-Executive Chair	investorrelations@idoxgroup.com
David Meaden, Chief Executive Officer
Anoop Kang, Chief Financial Officer
Peel Hunt LLP (NOMAD and Broker)	+44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Benjamin Cryer
Kate Bannatyne
Adam Telling
MHP	+ 44 (0) 7827 662 831
Reg Hoare	idox@mhpgroup.com
Ollie Hoare
Matthew Taylor
Finn Taylor

 

About Idox plc

For more information see www.idoxgroup.com @Idoxgroup

 

Alternative Performance Measures (APMs)

The Group uses these APMs, which are not defined or specified under International Financial Reporting Standards, as this is in line with the management information requested and presented to the decision makers in our business; and is consistent with how the business is assessed by our debt and equity providers.

¹ Recurring revenue is defined as revenues associated with access to a specific ongoing service, with invoicing that typically recurs on an annual basis and underpinned by either a multi-year, rolling contract and highly repeatable services. These services include Support & Maintenance, SaaS fees, Hosting services, and some Managed service arrangements which involve a fixed fee irrespective of consumption.

² Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) is defined as earnings before amortisation, depreciation, non-underlying, acquisition costs, impairment, financing costs and share option costs. Share option costs are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA as this is a commonly used measure in the industry and how management and our shareholders track performance (see note 10 for reconciliation).

³ Adjusted EPS excludes amortisation on acquired intangibles, non-underlying, financing, impairment, share option and acquisition costs (see note 10 for reconciliation).

⁴ Net cash / debt is defined as the aggregation of cash, bank borrowings and the long-term bond (see note 10 for reconciliation). This differs from a similar measure under IFRS, which would also include lease liabilities as debt. The definition used is consistent with that used within the Group's banking arrangements.

⁵ Free cash flow is defined as net cash flow from operating activities after taxation less capital expenditure and lease payments (see note 10 for reconciliation).

 

 

Chair's statement

 

Introduction

I am pleased to introduce a good set of results from Idox for the first half of the financial year. This has been a period of continuous progress and operational execution. During the period, revenues grew by 4% and Adjusted EBITDA by 6%. Cash generated from operating activities, before taxation, was £19.6m, a conversion rate of 141% against an Adjusted EBITDA for the period of £13.9m. The period ended with the business in a net cash position of £0.2m.

 

The Group continues to be well placed to execute on our growth strategy. There is positive momentum across the business, supported by an increase of 9% on last year's order intake and a strong pipeline of opportunities which underpins our confidence in the medium term. We continue to see strong demand for our products and services from existing customers as they use software and new technologies to help them manage increasing demand with limited resources.

 

It is important that we manage the business to take advantage of new opportunities, build scale in our operations and continue to expand into near market adjacencies to capitalise on our core competencies. We will do this through both organic development and acquisitions.

 

We have continued to see opportunities that extend our product and service footprint with our customers, and we have supported the business with investment in new product areas which we believe will deliver value to customers and shareholders over the medium term. We continue to pursue an active acquisition programme yet remain focussed on only acquiring businesses which we believe will enhance our current position, and at prices which deliver value for our shareholders. In this vein, we were pleased to complete the acquisition of Plianz shortly after the period end, which is a very good fit with our current activities. We continue to look for accretive, synergistic acquisition opportunities that support our long-term focus on software and complement the existing portfolio. We are confident that there are a range of opportunities that fit the key criteria we have defined, it is incumbent on the Board to exercise the necessary patience to ensure that we are delivering in the best long-term interests of shareholders. In support of our growth strategy, the continued focus on cash generation and paying down existing debt has put the business in a strong position to execute on this strategy.

 

The divisional structure continues to work well for our business and our customers, and this focus on customers has been a significant driver of our growth in recurring revenue, up 9% in the period. We continue to see strong demand for our cloud-based solutions, particularly in our LPPP business where we saw recurring revenue in Idox Cloud up over 13% on the prior year period.

 

During the reporting period, we have undertaken work to report our progress in matters relating to ESG and enhanced our reporting on matters relating to diversity, equality, and inclusivity (DEI). We have continued to explore how our teams engage with the business and their thoughts on matters that affect them through the 'Be Heard' survey and this continues to shape our approach to DEI. We are committed to ensuring that all stakeholders, foremost amongst these our employees, can be proud of the Company's work in this area.

 

We are grateful to our customers for continuing to have confidence in Idox as a partner and to our colleagues for their hard work and dedication in making Idox the business it is today.

 

Dividend

As previously announced, the Group paid a dividend of 0.7p per share in April 2025 in respect of the year ending 31 October 2024. Our current policy is to only declare a final dividend and therefore, no interim dividend is proposed in respect of H1 FY25 (H1 FY24: £Nil). We will keep the level of future dividends under review in consideration of our performance, financial position and our confidence in the future.

 

Summary

The Group has made good progress in the period. We are focused on ensuring we drive the full benefit of our strong performance in growing our recurring revenues into improving our net cash generation. We also remain committed to our buy and build strategy and continue to carefully evaluate M&A opportunities that we believe will deliver long term benefits for customers and shareholders whilst creating strong opportunities for our teams and their future development. Overall, the business continues to perform well and in line with the Board's expectations.

 

 

Chris Stone                                          

Chair of the Board                                                                                  

 

 

Chief Executive's statement

 

I am pleased to report on a good performance for the first half of the year and would like to thank our teams across the business who have been instrumental in building the strong momentum we have across the Group. We are proud to deliver market leading software that helps customers across a range of industries manage highly complex operational, legislative and regulatory processes through robust and effective software solutions.

 

The insight our customers gain to their business operations through these software platforms is profound and we have increased our capabilities in this area with the delivery of geospatial software and data solutions and look forward to developing these along with advanced machine learning and AI developments over the coming months and years.

 

The Company has continued to improve its revenue, recurring revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, cash and order book positions and has never been stronger than it is today. In addition, our committed banking facilities provide significant firepower to compliment organic growth and internal investment with acquisitions where we see that we can add scale and capability. Our priorities are opportunities that drive growth, improve recurring revenue, broaden our offering, and extend Idox's position in our chosen markets. Shortly after the period end we announced the acquisition of Plianz and this adds to our attractive portfolio of solutions across the Health and Social Care sectors.

 

Strong progress

During this reporting period we have seen growth in Group revenues of 4%, including 9% in our recurring revenues, generating total revenues of £45.0m, an Adjusted EBITDA improvement of 6% from £13.1m to £13.9m and a statutory operating profit improvement of 14% to £6.4m. The Group continued to generate strong cash flow during the period, resulting in a net cash position at 30 April 2025 of £0.2m compared to £9.9m net debt at the end of the last financial year.

 

Our strong operational cadence and financial position makes Idox well placed for continued growth in our software operations and provides a secure foundation to which we can add compatible acquisitions to our portfolio of offerings.

 

Clarity of strategy and consistency of performance has been based upon our 'Four Pillars' which underpin our strategic thinking and operational decision making for the business as we continue to grow, adapt, and evolve; these are Revenue expansion, Margin enhancement, Simplification and Communication.

 

The 'Four Pillars' programme

 

Revenue expansion

Our significant market positions and continued investment in our solutions has supported an improved sales performance, increasing sales to existing customers, in addition to welcoming new client customers across all Divisions.

 

During the period we saw recurring revenues increase by 9% and total revenue by 4% on the same period last year. Given the comparative period last year was cyclically significantly higher for customers extending the use of many of our key software offerings and when considering the overall economic sentiment, this can be seen as a very pleasing result. The record order intake during the period of £58.7m speaks well to the performance and momentum of the business.

 

Reviewing the performance of our Divisions:

 

Land, Property & Public Protection

Sales order intake in Local Government continued to perform well with high retention rates in the period and a good mix of new services and contract extensions. As anticipated this year, customers resigns were at a cyclically lower point, but our previously outlined strategic focus on establishing longer term agreements with customers, securing future long-term relationships has continued and we have seen a continued increase in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR).

 

The period saw significant contracts with North Yorkshire Council, Calderdale Borough Council, Swansea Council, East Lyndsay District Council, London Borough of Bexley and London Borough of Barnet Council. Harlow Council joined a growing customer base choosing the Idox provisioned hosting service for their existing software platforms, with 25% having now transitioned to our Uniform Cloud hosting service.

 

Recurring revenue in Idox Cloud was up over 13% in H1 FY25, with overall revenues up almost 18% on the same period last year. We welcomed new customers to our solution, including East Staffordshire Borough Council and a number of migrations including Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, Kent County Council, Derby City Council, Walden Borough Council and Blackpool Council.

 

Address Management Solutions revenues were up 7% supported by continued recurring revenue growth in the period which was up 9%. Our strategy of expanding into new adjacent markets showed good progress in the first half of the year with significant new business wins with Frequentis Ltd welcomed as a new customers, alongside Portsmouth City Council, Torbay Council and New Forest District Council, alongside a number of customers upgrades to the iManage Cloud offering.

 

The formation of Idox Geospatial, following the acquisition of Emapsite in 2023, has created an opportunity to create and explore new data services and solutions. Emapsite has built on its previous performance, with revenue growth of 23% on the same period last year. During the period there were a number of successes, including a major 3-year contract with Vodafone, new contracts with the National Collection of Aerial Photography and Miller & Bryce and continues to be an area which we invest in.

 

Communities

Revenue in Lilie, our sexual health solution, was up 10% on prior year, as we continued our strong relationship with existing customers such as Cardiff & Vale University Health Board, Hereford & Worcestershire, Royal Berkshire Hospital NHS Trust, Noble's Hospital and Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust.

 

Elections revenues were up 8% on prior year, with significant work with the Welsh Government, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Swansea City Council and Glasgow City Council.

 

In the Database subscription businesses GrantFinder and ResearchConnect, recurring revenue was up over 3% on the same period last year. GrantFinder welcomed 72 new customers in the period, with Research Connect and The Knowledge Exchange also enjoying good performance in the first half.

 

Social Care revenues were 8% lower than in 2024, however, recurring revenue has continued to increase (up 2%) including new contracts with London Borough of Lambeth, Reading Borough Council, Manchester City Council and Salford City Council.

 

Assets 

EIM returned to growth with revenues 2% higher compared to 2024. The second quarter saw a much better order intake performance carrying a stronger orderbook into the second half of the year. New FusionLive sales included significant contracts with Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Pacificorp and San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit, expanding EIM's international customer base.

 

iFit (our asset tracking solution) revenues were up over 31% with non-recurring revenues accounting for most of the improvement in performance, growing 46% half-on-half. There are a number of exciting opportunities for the iFit solution across the NHS and into other markets that we continue to target. Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Belfast NHS and Social Care Trust and NHS Tayside were notable new wins and resigns during the period.

 

Margin enhancement

We continue to target margin improvements across the business, and this has delivered results in the first half of the year, with the Adjusted EBITDA margin rising from 30% to 31%. Leveraging the matrix structure to build on our scale across our Engineering and IT departments has helped create efficiencies and better use of resources.

 

Formation of the Customer Success horizontal team and combining the leadership and management of onboarding, professional services and customer support is helping improve efficiency and delivery of better and more consistent services to customers. This approach has created opportunities for pooled resources providing additional support and scale across the Group as well as shared learning and improvement of technical capabilities.

 

We have continued to increase our operational teams in India over the first half of the year, and we now have over 100 colleagues based in Pune. We see this as an important focus area over the next few years as we target increasing the scale of our teams in India further.

 

Across Engineering we have developed a strategy to delivering Micro-Services across all platforms, simplifying our approach to complex and repeatable software requirements to ensure we engineer solutions once and apply them across all of our platforms.

 

We have also established an AI Group, focussed on creating the appropriate platforms for the Group going forward and demonstrating how AI technology can practically work for customers in simplifying process, removing duplicated costs and improving both staff and customer experiences.

 

Simplification

Across the Group we have implemented technologies and processes to streamline and improve consistency and colleague experience; this has helped bring better controls and improved visibility, facilitating better management control and information.

 

Expansion of the sales desk and revenue assurance teams across the entire Group has improved the overall customer experience, simplifying the order process and refining the order to cash workflow. This approach has created organisational efficiencies, significantly simplified the operations and created a more consistent approach.

 

We continue to review, refine and invest in processes and technology across the organisation to streamline and improve both the colleague and customer experience.

 

Communication

Given the nature of our operations, we have embraced, where appropriate, the world of hybrid working. However, we continue to work hard to provide an open and engaging environment where colleagues can collaborate effectively. We have encouraged and facilitated regular face-to-face activities and contact as we believe that in the creative areas of work, especially in development and product management, this is of particular importance.

 

We have opened a new office in Farnborough to accommodate our growing Geospatial operations and we successfully completed the move to a new modern office in Pune that can accommodate over 200 colleagues.

 

As part of our communication strategy, we engage and encourage regular and open dialogue with colleagues across the business, targeted through areas of special interest and focus groups, delivered through a variety of media and channels, and leveraging the very latest collaboration tools.

 

Regular CEO broadcasts continue to underpin our communication strategy, these include regular interactive sessions with various colleagues from across the business contributing to ensure that a broad range of insights, opinions, and inputs are presented. This forum provides opportunities for colleagues to ask open questions of the panel with high levels of participation from across the Group.

 

During the first half we have also engaged in a number of focus groups across the business under the banner of 'Be Heard'. This allows teams across the Group to reflect on the good things that come from working at Idox, provide feedback about the Company's future strategy and highlight the things that are important to them going forward that they would like us to focus on.

 

During the period we have introduced the My Growth initiative allowing team members to more actively drive their own career development at Idox and have implemented over 36 staff promotions in the period.

 

Responsible 

We believe that our solutions and services create long term value for the customers and communities we serve, and whilst we recognise our need to create shareholder value, the Board also recognises the importance of our societal and environmental responsibilities and the need to conduct our business in a responsible and sustainable way.

 

Our commitment to this is focussed in four areas; our People; our Communities, our Environment and Organisational Responsibilities.

 

Our ESG steering committee is now in its fifth year of driving our strategy and agenda, built on understanding and monitoring our business practices to ensure they are sustainable in both environmental and social terms as well as ensuring that Idox is well governed and authentic.

 

We have sponsored initiatives throughout the first half of FY25, maintaining our focus on DEI - and this is approached through smaller cross business virtual team meetings to discuss lived experiences and effective ways to make improvements across the business.

 

We have also supported employee led initiatives throughout the first half of the year to raise funds in support of various charities and we encourage and promote the use our community days scheme to support good causes in our local communities. Initiatives like the payroll giving scheme are well used and help maximise the impact of employees' contributions. We also operate regular workplace wellbeing sessions, which are very well attended and appreciated by members of the Idox Team.

 

Through our work in the Local Government community, we continue to enter into social value partnerships with customers allied to the delivery of our products and services. These arrangements enable Idox to make a very real and direct contribution in the customers' local community. In addition, as mentioned previously, we have continued to give free access to our My Funding Central services for eligible charities. 

 

Through our "My Funding Central" solution, and as part of our ongoing commitment to charities working across the UK, we provide organisations with incomes of less than £30,000 free access to grants and funding information.

 

Idox remains committed to our environmental protection initiatives and operating the business in a responsible manner. Our Environmental Management System is accredited to BS EN ISO 14001:2015, and we participate in the Energy Saving Opportunities Scheme ('ESOS'), meeting the requirements of the Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting ('SECR') regulations.

 

The ESG steering committee also monitors our ongoing carbon reduction initiatives to ensure we are meeting our targets, including maintaining disciplines on avoiding unnecessary travel, travelling green wherever possible and by continuing to take advantage of virtual meetings and the delivery of many of our customer services online. Following its introduction last year, we have maintained our options to incentivise and encourage employees to obtain an electric vehicle through our salary sacrifice scheme, along with providing financial support for colleagues who may wish to install ground-based heating systems, alongside help and advice on energy saving measures that can be implemented when working from home.

 

Outlook

Idox has delivered a good financial performance in the first half of 2025 in line with the Board's expectations, with increased total revenue, recurring revenue, profitability and cash generation, putting the Group in its strongest position ever.

 

A clear focus on, and a deep understanding of the markets we serve, continues to provide us with excellent opportunities to support new and existing customers. The breadth and depth of our services delivered via our outstanding people offers further opportunities for organic growth.

 

We have a proven track record of identifying, acquiring and integrating strategic assets into Idox and were pleased to complete the acquisition of Plianz shortly after the period end to strengthen our existing Health and Social Care offering. Our M&A pipeline remains healthy, and we remain confident of adding to our existing portfolio of specialist software and geospatial data solutions to deliver further profitable growth.

 

We are pleased with the progress made and positive momentum meaning the Group is well positioned to deliver on our full-year expectations.

 

 

David Meaden

Chief Executive Officer                                        

 

 

Chief Financial Officer's review

 

The Group delivered a good performance in the first half of 2025 across revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow. Revenue increased 4% in the period to £45.0m (H1 FY24: £43.1m). Adjusted EBITDA increased by 6% to £13.9m (H1 FY24: £13.1m). Net debt since 31 October 2024 improved to a net cash position of £0.2m at 30 April 2025.

 

The following table sets out the Revenue and Adjusted EBITDA for each of the Group's segments.

 

		H1 FY25	H1 FY24	Variance
		£000	£000	£000	%
Revenue
LPPP		29,741	28,950	791	3%
Assets		7,850	7,081	769	11%
Communities		7,416	7,118	298	4%
Total		45,007	43,149	1,858	4%
Revenue Split
LPPP		66%	67%
Assets		17%	16%
Communities		17%	17%
Total		100%	100%
Adjusted EBITDA1
LPPP		9,212	9,197	15	-%
Assets		2,062	1,580	482	31%
Communities		2,631	2,282	349	15%
Total		13,905	13,059	846	6%
Adjusted EBITDA Margin
LPPP		31%	32%
Assets		26%	22%
Communities		35%	32%
- Total		31%	30%

 

¹ Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before amortisation, depreciation, non-underlying, acquisition costs, impairment, financing costs and share option costs. Share option costs are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA as this is a commonly used measure in the industry and how management and our shareholders track performance. See note 10 for reconciliations of the alternative performance measures.

 

Total revenue for the period increased by 4% to £45.0m (H1 FY24: £43.1m), with all divisions growing. LPPP increased 3% in the period to £29.7m (H1 FY24: £29.0m). Assets increased 11% to £7.9m (H1 FY24: £7.1m) and Communities revenues increased 4% to £7.4m (H1 FY24: £7.1m).

 

Adjusted EBITDA increased by 6% for the period to £13.9m (H1 FY24: £13.1m). The growth in Adjusted EBITDA was driven by Assets and Communities which were up 31% and 15% respectively in the period with LPPP delivering a stable performance. This resulted in an anticipated overall Adjusted EBITDA margin of 31% (H1 FY24: 30%). In line with the improvements in Adjusted EBITDA, the Adjusted EBITDA margin has improved to 31%, driven by increases in both Assets and Communities.

 

Revenues

		H1 FY25	H1 FY24	Variance
		£000	£000	£000	%
Revenues
- Recurring (LPPP)		19,747	17,621	2,126	12%
- Recurring (Assets)		4,802	4,727	75	2%
- Recurring (Communities)		5,209	5,018	191	4%
		29,758	27,366	2,392	9%
- Non-Recurring (LPPP)		9,994	11,329	(1,335)	(12%)
- Non-Recurring (Assets)		3,048	2,354	694	29%
- Non-Recurring (Communities)		2,207	2,100	107	5%
		15,249	15,783	(534)	(3%)
		45,007	43,149	1,858	4%
- Recurring1		66%	63%
- Non-Recurring2		34%	37%

 

¹ Recurring revenue is defined as revenues associated with access to a specific ongoing service, with invoicing that typically recurs on an annual basis and underpinned by either a multi-year, rolling contract and highly repeatable services. These services include Support & Maintenance, SaaS fees, Hosting services, and some Managed service arrangements which involve a fixed fee irrespective of consumption.

² Non-recurring revenue is defined as revenues without any formal commitment from the customer to recur on an annual basis.

 

Total recurring revenue increased by 9% in the period to £29.8m and increased to 66% of the Group's total revenue (H1 FY24: 63%). LPPP has seen an increase of 12% in recurring revenues to £19.7m driven by growth across all of its solutions. Recurring revenue within the Assets division increased 2% to £4.8m with growth in EIM and our asset tracking solution (iFit) offset by reductions in the CAFM facilities management solution. Communities recurring revenue increased by 4% driven by growth across all solutions.

 

Non-recurring revenues have decreased by 3% to £15.2m for the period and account for 34% of the Group's revenue. LPPP non-recurring revenue was down 12% to £10.0m (H1 FY24: £11.3m) driven by anticipated reductions in Local Authority, partially offset by increases in Cloud. Non-recurring revenue within Assets increased 29% to £3.0m (H1 FY24: £2.4m) with a strong performance in iFit and Transport. Communities delivered £2.2m (H1 FY24: £2.1m) of non-recurring revenue with slightly lower volumes in our Social Care solutions.

 

The Group's order intake for the period was up 9% on last year to £58.7m which provides good levels of revenue visibility for the remainder of the year and into FY26.

 

Profit before taxation

The statutory profit before taxation for the period was up 15% at £5.3m (H1 FY24: £4.6m). The following table provides a reconciliation between Adjusted EBITDA and statutory profit before taxation.

 

		H1 FY25	H1 FY24	Variance
		£000	£000	£000	%
Adjusted EBITDA		13,905	13,059	846	6%
Depreciation & Amortisation		(6,189)	(6,100)	(89)	1%
Non-underlying costs		(366)	(26)	(340)	1,308%
Acquisition costs		(107)	(12)	(95)	792%
Financing costs		-	(23)	23	(100%)
Share option costs		(800)	(1,225)	425	(35%)
Net finance costs		(1,180)	(1,116)	(64)	6%
Profit before taxation		5,263	4,557	706	15%

 

The Group incurred non-underlying costs of £0.4m in the year relating to organisational change and restructuring.

 

Acquisition costs of £0.1m primarily relate to the acquisition of Plianz which was announced in May 2025.

 

Share option costs of £0.8m (H1 FY24: £1.2m) relate to the accounting charge for awards made under the Group's Long-term Incentive Plan, in accordance with IFRS 2 - Share-based Payments.

 

Net finance costs are in line with the prior year at £1.2m (H1 FY24: £1.1m).

 

The Group continues to invest in developing innovative technology solutions across the portfolio and has capitalised £4.2m of development costs during the period (H1 FY24: £3.7m). The increase in the period is primarily driven by our Geospatial offering.

 

Taxation

The effective tax rate (ETR) on a statutory basis for the period was 20% (H1 FY24: 28%).

 

The main driver for the decreased tax rate is the claim of Research and Development (R&D) tax credit for prior periods. The ETR of 20% in the period was lower than the UK corporation tax rate of 25% as a result of the R&D tax credit and lower overseas losses and expenses not deductible for tax purposes. In 2024 the ETR of 28% was higher than the UK corporation tax rate of 25% as a result of overseas losses and expenses not deductible for tax purposes. As a result, the ETR on an adjusted basis moved from 26.5% to 20.6%.

 

Earnings per share and dividends

The adjusted basic earnings per share for the period was up 16% at 1.49p (H1 FY24: 1.28p) and the adjusted diluted earnings per share increased by 17% to 1.48p (H1 FY24: 1.26p). The increase was driven by improved profitability and the lower tax charge, resulting in a higher adjusted profit after taxation of £6.8m (H1 FY24: £5.8m).

 

Basic earnings per share improved by 29% to 0.93p (H1 FY24: 0.72p). Diluted earnings per share increased by 30% to 0.92p (H1 FY24: 0.71p). This was driven by the statutory profit after tax for the period being 30% higher than the prior year.

 

In line with H1 FY24, the Board does not propose an interim dividend in respect of the six months ended 30 April 2025. Our current policy is to only declare a final dividend. It will keep the level of future dividends under review in consideration of the Group's performance, financial position and overall confidence in the future.

 

Balance sheet and cashflow

The Group's net assets have increased to £80.0m compared to £78.3m at 31 October 2024. The constituent movements are detailed in the Group's consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity, which are summarised as follows:

 

	6 months to 30 April 2025 £000
Total Equity as per FY24 Financial Report	78,280
Share option movements	610
Equity dividends paid	(3,221)
Profit for the period	4,230
Exchange losses on translation of foreign operations	55
Total Equity as per H1 FY25 Financial Report	79,954

The Group continued to have good cash generation in the period. Cash generated from operating activities before taxation was £19.6m, and as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA was 141% (H1 FY24: 149%). The Group typically operates on a negative working capital cycle. A significant part of the Group's contracts renew and re-sign during the first half of the year. As a result, billings and cash collections typically tend to be annually in advance in the first half of the year.

 

		H1 FY25	H1 FY24
		£000	£000
Net cashflow from operating activities after taxation		18,713	17,666
Capex		(4,558)	(4,292)
Lease payments		(542)	(400)
Free cashflow1		13,613	12,974

 

¹ Free cash flow is defined as net cash flow from operating activities after taxation less capital expenditure and lease payments (see note 10 for reconciliation).

 

Given the strong cash collection during the first half of the year, the Group ended the period with net cash of £0.2m compared to net debt of £9.9m at 31 October 2024. Net debt comprised cash of £16.4m less bank borrowings of £5.3m and the Maltese listed bond of £10.9m, which is due for repayment in July 2025. We ended the period with a leverage ratio of 0.02 times (FY24: 0.4 times) with significant headroom against the Group's financial covenants.

 

The Group retains excellent liquidity with cash and available committed bank facilities and has strong headroom against financial covenants. The Group's total available facilities at 30 April 2025 consisted of a revolving credit facility of £75m and £45m accordion which continue to 1 October 2027, providing significant scope for further M&A.

 

 

Anoop Kang

Chief Financial Officer