StatPro Group plc, the AIM listed provider of portfolio analytics and asset evaluation services for the global asset management industry, today announces a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2009.
Year end trading update
The Board is pleased to report that results for the full year ended 31 December 2009 are expected to be in line with current market expectations, delivering strong revenue and profit growth. A key focus in 2009 has been the continuing reduction of debt, resulting in net debt of £8.9 million on 31 December 2009 (2008: 14.6 million). This reduction combined with a significant increase in EBITDA reduces gearing considerably.
New business generation has been strong during the year demonstrating the strength of our product offering and the success of our enlarged sales team. As foreseen at the start of the year renewal rates reduced from historical levels due to the increase in M&A activity in the asset management industry. Nevertheless over 90% of our revenue came from automatically recurring contracts and the average length of contract at year end increased to approximately 20 months (2008: 16 months). The continued high level of recurring revenue, combined with greater new sales opportunities gives us high visibility and confidence for the year ahead.
StatPro Seven and StatPro Revolution - extending our market reach
The key event of 2009 has been the release of StatPro Seven which finalises the transformation of all our product range from distributed software to Software as a Service (SaaS). We have now consolidated all our software modules onto a single platform and combined it with global market data and index data. Clients can now subscribe for the service by portfolio allowing us to offer our capabilities to much smaller organisations, thus broadening our markets considerably. The launch of the beta version of StatPro Revolution (a sister product) in March will extend our market reach even further. StatPro Revolution is focused on the front office and will target the fund managers, sales, client support and research teams. Whereas StatPro Seven is a continuation of our existing products and markets, StatPro Revolution opens an entirely new market for us.
Trading Outlook
Looking forward to 2010, we anticipate that value for money and regulatory issues will remain the key drivers for business. Because of our ability to offer our existing services at a lower price point through the launch of StatPro Seven and the extension of our market through StatPro Revolution we believe that business activity will increase. We have reorganised and expanded our sales teams in North America and Europe in order to capitalise on these new product initiatives. With a high proportion of recurring revenue and with higher activity overall, the Board remains confident that the results for 2010 will be in line with current market expectations.
Justin Wheatley, Chief Executive, commented: "StatPro made excellent progress in 2009 in terms of both product and business development. By providing a better service at a lower starting price we will be able to address a much larger market than we have before. We are confident we have the right product at the right time and we are looking forward to 2010."
Notice of results
The Company expects to report its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2009 on Wednesday, 10 March 2010.