REG - Touchstar PLC - Full Year Trading Update

TouchstarAnnouncement

24/01/2022 07:05

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20220124:nRSX2900Za&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 2900Z  Touchstar PLC  24 January 2022

 Touchstar plc

(the "Company", "Touchstar" or the "Group")

 

Full Year Trading Update for the year ending 31 December 2021

 

Profits and cash generation above prior expectation

Considerable strategic progress achieved in 2021

Focused strategy and strong financial position to enable accelerated growth in
2022

 

 

Touchstar plc (AIM: TST), suppliers of mobile data computing solutions and
managed services to a variety of industrial sectors, is pleased to give the
following trading update for the year ended 31 December 2021 ("FY21").

 

 

Trading Update and Financial Position

 

·    The unaudited full year outcome for FY21 is above market expectations
in terms of profitability and cash generation. The Board anticipates:

o profit after tax to be approximately 200% higher than FY20;

o EBITDA growth of over 20% compared to FY20;

o cash generation to be considerably stronger than expected;

o a year-end cash balance of £2.5m (31 December 2020:£1.9m); and

o an order book at year end of £646,000 (31 December 2020: £475,000).

 

Strategic Advancement in 2021

 

·    Touchstars evolution to a SaaS model continues, this brings benefits
from long term contracts and high levels of customer retention.

o Recurring revenue accounted for 38% of total revenue in 2021 (FY20: 35%)

o Rate of growth in recurring revenue of 14%

 

Current Trading and Outlook for 2022

 

·    The Board has given a consistent message that it would be 2022 when
the underlying growth rate in all the Group's businesses harmonise. The Board
believes that:

o the prospects for the Group appear more positive and more certain than for a
long time;

o the rate of growth in revenue and EBITDA will accelerate in 2022 driving
further substantial improvement in financial performance;

o the growth in SaaS revenues is likely to outpace the Company's overall
growth rate will the aim for recurring revenue moving towards 40% of total
revenue by the end of FY22: and

o recent and continuing supply chain constraints appear manageable.

 

 

Ian Martin, Chairman, commented:

 

"Despite some difficult trading conditions in 2021, the management team has
delivered on both the Company's strategic and financial objectives.
Particularly pleasingly, Touchstar has made substantial progress in 2021 in
transitioning its business to become a provider of proprietary SaaS (Software
as a Service) in mobile applications.

 

"Whilst there will be challenges ahead in 2022, we are confident that we are
well placed to capitalise on the forward momentum gained, using internally
generated cash to accelerate our rate of growth, innovate our products,
enhance our solutions, invest in our people, and become a better business."

 

Touchstar expects to report its final results for the year ended 31 December
2021 in late April 2022.

 

 

Certain information contained in this announcement would have constituted
inside information (as defined by Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014)
("MAR") prior to its release as part of this announcement and is disclosed in
accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

 

For further information, please contact:

 

 Touchstar plc                              Ian Martin              0161 8745050

                                            Mark Hardy              0161 874 5050
 WH Ireland - Nominated Adviser and broker  Mike Coe/ Sarah Mather  0207 220 1666

 

Information on Touchstar plc can be seen at: www.touchstarplc.com
(http://www.touchstarplc.com)

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  TSTPPUUGGUPPGMG