REG - Windward Ltd. - Trading Update

WindwardAnnouncement

12/01/2023 07:00

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20230112:nRSL4528Ma&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 4528M  Windward Ltd.  12 January 2023

12 January 2023

 

Windward Ltd.

("Windward", "the Company")

 

Trading update

 

Positive FY22 trading with 40% growth in US Government and Commercial segment
ACV, delivering overall growth of 20% in ACV and 23% in revenue

 

Strategic initiative to reach EBITDA breakeven earlier than previously guided

 

Three-year contract win with American supermajor energy firm

 

Windward (https://windward.ai/) (LON: WNWD), the leading Maritime AI company,
provides an update on trading for the year ended 31 December 2022 ("FY22").

The Company is pleased to report a year of positive momentum, with Annual
Contract Value (ACV)(1) at 31 December 2022 increasing 20% to $25.5m, driven
by new customer wins, including long-term contracts with some of the largest
participants in maritime trade and expansion with existing customers.

The Company's strategic focus areas of US Government and Commercial segments
have performed strongly, growing ACV at approximately 40% each through the
year. The ROW government segment growth of 2% was below management
expectations and impacted by higher churn and one contract renewal for $1.3m
per annum, deferred into 2023 which negatively affected overall FY22 revenue
and EBITDA. As a result of the strong growth in US Government and Commercial,
including some multi-year contracts, these segments now account for more than
50% of ACV, demonstrating the Company's successful execution of its stated
customer diversification and growth strategy and the accelerating appetite for
Windward's platform across the broader maritime industry.

The Company expects to report revenue growth in 2022 of 23% to approximately
$21.3m (2021: $17.3m) and an EBITDA loss of approximately $12.2m (2021:
$8.6m), reflecting investment in headcount to support R&D and sales and
marketing. These investments have resulted in the successful launch of three
new offerings and capabilities: Ocean Freight Visibility, API Insights Lab and
Vessel Fuel Consumption API and collectively have driven considerable growth
in customer numbers, to over 130 (2021: 81). This expanded customer base
provides a strong platform for growth and reduces customer concentration.

The Company remains well capitalised, with net cash of $22.2m at year end,
significantly more than required to meet its expected costs and enters 2023 in
an enhanced strategic position, due to its expanded offering, capabilities,
broader customer base and supportive market drivers.

Having largely completed the planned investments outlined at the time of the
Company's IPO, and in light of the current challenging wider economic climate,
the Company believes it is prudent to maintain its cost base in 2023 at its
2022 level, and has taken cost reduction action across its operations, seeking
to become cashflow positive and reach EBITDA breakeven earlier than as
previously stated in 2024.

It is the belief of the Directors that the expectation for real-time, accurate
insights to manage maritime risk is greater than ever. Supported by the
Company's strong cash position, Windward remains focused on growing its
revenues and customer base whilst managing its costs as it accelerates its
path towards profitability.

Three year contract win with American supermajor

Windward is pleased to announce a three-year enterprise contract win, signed
in late 2022, with one of the world's largest publicly traded international
oil and gas companies. The customer will utilise Windward's solution to
enhance its due diligence and streamline trade compliance processes, enabling
it to conduct business as usual in the current precarious oil trading
ecosystem in light of the recently implemented Russian crude oil price cap.
Alongside Shell and BP, the customer becomes the latest blue-chip energy firm
to use Windward's platform, validating the application of the Company's
solution within the maritime market.

Ami Daniel, CEO and Co-Founder of Windward said:

"2022 has been another year of considerable operational and financial progress
for Windward, with fantastic ACV growth in our Commercial and US Government
customer segments, which we expect to be the growth engines for the business
moving forward. Today's announcement of a major contract with one of the
world's largest companies supports our belief in the potential for our
platform across the maritime supply chain.

As we move into 2023, our mission to become the leading decision support
platform for real-time maritime data intelligence through ground-breaking
technologies remains unchanged. The increasing risks in maritime trade
presented by the war in the Ukraine and ongoing supply chain delays are
fuelling demand for our offering and we are confident we have the right team
and technology in place to capture this significant opportunity."

 

 

For more information, please contact:

 Windward Ltd.                                       Via Alma PR
 Irit Singer, CMO

 Canaccord Genuity (Nominated Adviser & Broker)      +44(0)20 7523 8000
 Simon Bridges / Andrew Potts

 Alma PR                                             +44(0)20 3405 0205
 Caroline Forde / Kieran Breheny / Pippa Crabtree

 

About Windward

Windward (LSE:WNWD), a publicly-traded company on the London Stock Exchange,
is a leading Maritime AI company, enabling organizations to achieve business
and operational readiness. Windward's AI-powered solution allows stakeholders
including banks, commodity traders, insurers, and major energy and shipping
companies to make real-time, predictive intelligence-driven decisions,
providing a 360° view of the maritime ecosystem and its broader impact on
safety, security, finance, and business. For more information visit:
https://windward.ai/.

((1)) ACV, as of a given date, is the total of the value of each contract
divided by the total number of years of the contract.

Prior to publication the information communicated in this announcement was
deemed by the Company to constitute inside information for the purposes of
article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No 596/2014 as amended by
regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations No
2019/310 ('MAR'). With the publication of this announcement, this information
is now considered to be in the public domain.

 

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  TSTDZGMMNMFGFZM