21st Century Technology plc (AIM: C21), the specialist provider of tailored solutions to the transport community, solving complex operational requirements both ‘on-vehicle’ and ‘in-street’, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2018.
Financial headlines
- Revenue £12.6m (2017: £11.8m) of which £3.9m (2017: £3.5m) was recurring revenue
- Gross profit £4.8m (2017: £5.0m) reflecting business mix
- Underlying loss before tax £138k (2017: underlying profit £11k)
- Profit before tax of £0.1m (2017: loss £0.4m) as a result of beneficial effects from share-based payments credit
- Diluted earnings per share 0.15p (2017: loss per share: 0.38p)
- Net cash flows from operating activities £380k (2017: cash outflow £729k)
- Cash and cash equivalents at year end £0.5m (2017: £0.3m)
- Extended the maturity of the £300k 2016 loan notes to 31 March 2021 and raised a further £250k of loan notes which mature on 31 March 2022 in order to provide additional working capital
Operational headlines
- Fleet sales increased 10% to £8.2m (2017: £7.5m); gross profit decreased to £2.4m (2017: £2.6m) reflecting the business mix.
- Passenger sales increased to £4.4m (2017: £4.3m) and gross profit increased to £2.5m (2017: £2.4m) with an increase in recurring, higher margin maintenance sales.
- Revenues from overseas operations grew to £2.3m (2017: £2.0m).
- Increased orders for our new technologies marketed under the Journeo™ brand and sold as Software as a Service (SaaS) contributed to the £0.4m increase in recurring revenue.
- R&D continues to be crucial to innovation led growth strategy with increased joined-up opportunities drawing from Fleet and Passenger expertise.
Russ Singleton, CEO of 21st Century Technology plc, said: “Our performance last year reflected the state of flux of the UK transport sector whereby continued PTA and local authority spending constraints resulted in significantly lower investment in new vehicles. In the UK we ensured our clients met regulatory requirements and extended the life of older vehicles via retro-fits, while we sought to grow recurring revenues and expand overseas sales.
Despite the persistence of reduced fleet investment, there is a strong recognition by the industry in the need to adopt new technologies to meet H&S and emissions regulations, as well as the joined-up public transport requirements of the future. Inevitably, this will lead to investment in new vehicles and, therefore, it is increasingly a matter of ‘when’, rather than ‘if’, it will happen. This is set against a demand to reduce upfront capital investment in technologies and the move towards SaaS business models.
As a result, considerable effort was made last year working in close collaboration with our existing and potential customers to define and develop new technologies for both passengers and operators. Our SaaS solutions, marketed under Journeo™, are being received very well and we are building our reputation for innovation, evidenced by an increasing number of in-bound enquiries. There is therefore a great sense of anticipation at 21st Century, not least resulting from a healthy pipeline of new business opportunities, but also how our new technologies will fundamentally change the profile of the Group. I look forward to reporting on our continued progress.”
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