BKS Beeks Financial Cloud Group Plc

Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc

("Beeks" or the "Company")

Trading Update

22 July 2024 - Beeks Financial Cloud Group plc (AIM: BKS), a cloud computing and connectivity provider for financial markets, provides an update on trading for the year ended 30 June 2024 (FY24).

FY24 results are expected to be in line with consensus expectations, with Beeks having delivered significant double-digit growth on the prior year, driven by a strong performance across Beeks' Private, Proximity and Exchange Cloud offerings.

Beeks exited FY24 with approximately 18% growth in ACMRR in the year to £28.0m (30 June 2023: £23.8m). Revenue for FY24 is expected to be approximately 27% higher than FY23, delivering underlying EBITDA¹ growth of over 27% and underlying profit before tax² growth of approximately 67% versus FY23. 

Significant wins secured in H2 FY24, including (as announced in March) the Johannesburg Stock Exchange's (JSE) Exchange Cloud Contract Extension and a Proximity Cloud Win with one of the world's largest banking groups, have contributed to Beeks' increasing levels of contracted, multi-year, recurring revenue, providing a strong basis for accelerated growth.

In the second half of the year, Beeks continued to achieve a positive free cash flow position in line with management's previously stated strategy, with unaudited net cash of £6.58m at the period end, (H1 24: net cash of £5.44m; FY23: net cash of £4.41m) notwithstanding continued investment in Beeks' product offering.

As announced on 6 February 2024, Beeks conditionally secured a third Exchange Cloud contract with one of the largest exchanges globally (the "Exchange"). Completion of the contract with the Exchange is subject to regulatory approval, following which deployment of services and recognition of revenue will commence. Advanced progress has been made on this approval process, in line with expectations, and Beeks looks forward to updating shareholders on the outcome shortly.

The Exchange Cloud pipeline continues to build, with advanced discussions taking place with other major Exchanges across the globe. Having signed a contract extension during FY24 to meet stronger than anticipated customer demand for the solution, the JSE is providing strong references to other potential customers of Exchange Cloud.

The conversion of Beeks' record pipeline across each of its offerings remains a core focus for FY25 and the new financial year has started promisingly, including the contracts already signed in FY24 for delivery and revenue in FY25.

The above indicative financial results are subject to audit. The Company expects to release audited results for FY24 in early October 2024.

Gordon McArthur, CEO at Beeks, commented: "We are delighted to have delivered another set of record financial results and a further year of significant growth. The increased traction of our products is testament to Beeks' growing reputation across the financial markets as technology provider of choice. We are confident in our ability to continue satisfying strong demand for our solutions and we remain focused on the conversion of our substantial pipeline."

Notes:

¹Underlying EBITDA is defined as profit for the period before amortisation, depreciation, finance costs, taxation, acquisition costs, share based payments, exchange rate gains/losses on statement of financial position translation and exceptional non-recurring costs.

²Underlying profit before tax is defined as profit before tax excluding amortisation on acquired intangibles, acquisition costs, share based payments, exchange rate gains/losses on statement of financial position translation and exceptional non-recurring costs.

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About Beeks:

Cloud computing is crucial to Capital Markets and finance.

Beeks Group is a leading managed cloud provider exclusively within this fast-moving sector. Our Infrastructure-as-a-Service model is optimised for low-latency private cloud compute, connectivity and analytics, providing the flexibility to deploy and connect to exchanges, trading venues and public cloud for a true hybrid cloud experience.

ISO 27001 certified, we provide world-class security aligned to global security requirements.

Founded in 2011, Beeks Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: BKS) and has enjoyed continued growth each year. Beeks Group now employs over 100 team members across the globe with the majority based at our Renfrew HQ.

Find out more at beeksgroup.com