REG - Northcoders Group - Trading Update

NorthcodersAnnouncement

19/07/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 8735S  Northcoders Group PLC  19 July 2022

 For immediate release  19 July 2022

 

 

Northcoders Group PLC

('Northcoders', the 'Group' or the 'Company')

 

Trading Update

 

Northcoders (AIM:CODE), the independent provider of training programmes for
software coding, is pleased to provide the following trading update for the
six months to 30 June 2022 ('the Period').

 

·    At 30 June 2022 revenue visibility for the financial year to December
2022 was already at 83% of market expectations

·    Continued growth in demand with 3,494 applications in the six-month
period compared to 3,662 applications in the full year to December 2021

·    Strong reputation of Northcoders training facilitating successful
launch and strong pipeline for the Group's new Hire, Train, Deploy product,
'Developer Incubator'.

·    Significant expansion of Corporate Solutions division, with multiple
well-known UK companies turning to Northcoders for digital skills training

 

With demand achieving record highs, the Group is trading comfortably in line
with management expectations as to revenue and ahead of management
expectations with respect to underlying profitability for H1 2022. Revenue for
the six months to 30 June 2022 was £2.3m (H1 2021: £1.0m). On 30 June,
revenue visibility for the financial year to December 2022 was £5.4m, being
83% of the market expectations for the year.

The strong performance of the Group in the year to date gives the Board
confidence to invest additional funds in the second half of the year to
support the anticipated growth in FY 2023, which is expected to result in the
overall profitability for FY 2022 being in line with market expectations.

During the Period, the Group has secured multiple new contracts in its
Corporate Solutions division, with Rolls Royce and EMAC Ltd, among others, and
the Group received confirmation that its NHS Digital academy programme will
commence in September 2022. Well-known companies such as On the Beach, Evri,
HESA and Sky Bet have also now started their digital training programmes with
Northcoders during the first half of 2022. The Group grew its graduate hiring
network by a further 10% by engaging with 32 new companies for the first time
this year. Northcoders now has a network of almost 350 hiring partner
companies to sustain its graduate hiring from coding bootcamps. The Group has
also continued to see an increase in demand from individuals wanting to enrol
on its core coding bootcamps and apprenticeships. Application numbers for the
first six months of the current year stood at 3,494, which compares favourably
with the 3,662 applications in the 12 months to December 2021.

In the Period, Northcoders' Corporate Solutions division successfully launched
"Developer Incubator". Developer Incubator is a fully managed
"Teams-as-a-Service" model for businesses to hire teams of junior developers,
managed by Northcoders' internal consultancy team. Developer Incubator offers
the support required by organisations who need to future-proof their talent
pipeline but do not have the internal resources to hire junior-level
developers. Training is bespoke to the client and delivered up front.
Developer Incubator utilises a "Hire, Train, Deploy" model, whereby
consultants are hired on Northcoders' payroll and billed out to clients for a
monthly fee.

Following on from our first hire, train and deploy consultancy contract with
theidol.com (a subsidiary of Legal & General), Northcoders Solutions
division has signed Developer Incubator contracts with R2 Data Labs;
Rolls-Royce's Data Science division; and the customer service software
provider, EMaC.

The Developer Incubator product, part of the Group's Corporate Solutions
division, is already growing strongly, with positive market reception and
demand providing confidence in the significant growth potential of the
division. Staff utilisation rates are expected to remain constantly high as
all consultants can be used either to teach on the Northcoders' bootcamp or
work on internal development projects when not utilised on a client contract.

Northcoders' cash flow has benefited from the Department for Education-funded
scholarships being made available to those who previously utilised the
Company's finance provider, which had absorbed working capital. Therefore, the
Company has used this as an opportunity to accelerate investment plans in its
learn-to-code platform, which will automate learner enrolment in its courses
and lead to a substantial saving in staff costs in the learner admissions
team. Even while the learn-to-code platform is in its infancy, the Company is
already yielding staff-saving benefits.

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the UK version of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended ("MAR"). Upon
the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service,
this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

- Ends -

 

For further enquiries:

 Northcoders Group PLC                                       Via Buchanan
 Chris Hill, CEO                                             Tel: +44 (0) 20 7466 5000
 Charlotte Prior, CFO                                        www.northcodersgroup.com (http://www.northcodersgroup.com/)

 WH Ireland Limited (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)       Tel: +44 (0)20 7220 1666
 Mike Coe
 Sarah Mather

 Peterhouse Capital Limited  (Joint Broker)                  Tel+44 (0) 20 7496 0930
 Martin Lampshire                                            www.peterhousecap.com (http://www.peterhousecap.com/)
 Lucy Williams

 Buchanan Communications
 Henry Harrison-Topham                                       northcoders@buchanan.uk.com (mailto:northcoders@buchanan.uk.com)
 Stephanie Whitmore
 George Cleary

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

Northcoders is a market leading provider of B2B and B2C coding and software
development training. Founded in 2015, its business model operates a hybrid
structure with flagship sites in Manchester and Leeds supported by a best in
class digital offering to businesses and individuals across the UK.

 

Powered by IP rich technology, Northcoders' coding school offers bootcamp
courses to consumers from a range of backgrounds, delivered through virtual
and physical learning.  The Group also works with blue chip corporates across
multiple sectors to supply innovative EdTech solutions for the upskilling and
reskilling of employees, and is a registered provider of government-backed
apprenticeships in the field.

 

With a keen focus of inclusivity, diversity and quality at its core,
Northcoders aims to address the digital skills gap in the UK to meet the
increasing demand for digital specialists from corporates and government. It
operates in a significant and growing market with structural growth trends
further accelerated by Covid-19.

 

Northcoders was admitted to trading on AIM in July 2021 with the ticker
CODE.L.  For additional information please visit www.northcodersgroup.com
(https://www.northcodersgroup.com/) .

 

 

 

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