Results for the six months ended 31 August 2022

FD Technologies (AIM: FDP.L, Euronext Growth: FDP.I) today announces its interim results for the six months ended 31 August 2022.

Business highlights

Momentum continues, strong growth in KPIs

• Growing momentum in KX reflected in H1 annual recurring revenue (ARR) growth of 41% and annual contract value signed of £11.4m, surpassing FY22 (£9.8m)
• Customer expansion strategy delivering results, with net revenue retention (NRR) increasing to 119% (H1 FY22: 102%), reflecting the value our customers achieve through increasing their use of KX
• ARR growth in Industry of 120%, led by new customer wins and expansion in healthcare, manufacturing and energy, while Financial Services delivered ARR growth of 35% through new customer wins and upsells of existing customers to KX Insights
• Growth driven by 51 subscription deals signed (H1 FY22: 41), of which 21 were for KX Insights (H1 FY22: 6), our cloud-first integrated data management and real-time analytics platform
• Strategic agreement with Microsoft progressing as planned, with joint marketing initiatives helping to build customer interest and pipeline ahead of general availability of KX Insights on Azure in H1 2023
• Appointment of Ashok Reddy as KX CEO to deliver product and commercial strategies that will accelerate growth
• Continued strong growth in First Derivative, ahead of our expectations and built on our capability to assist clients with their strategic objectives
• Weaker demand environment at MRP, with measures taken to restore adjusted EBITDA margin in H2 and building pipeline for Prelytix 3.0
• Increasing FY23 Group revenue guidance to at least £300m, while maintaining adjusted EBITDA guidance to reflect strong KX and First Derivative performance

Seamus Keating, CEO of FD Technologies, commented: ‘The Group has enjoyed a strong H1, growing revenue and profitability and laying the foundations for accelerated growth from here. In KX the momentum we have built since the launch of KX Insights is delivering results, as evidenced by the 41% growth in annual recurring revenue. The recent appointment of Ashok Reddy is already benefiting KX through his significant experience in scaling product-led enterprise technology businesses. Likewise, First Derivative maintained its strong growth, while we have taken action to enable MRP to improve its performance in H2 despite the market conditions experienced there.

These results demonstrate that our strategy of investing to accelerate growth is working. We have added significant value to the Group during H1 as our investments in product, systems and people are delivering. We are very well placed to continue to create value, with major growth opportunities ahead.’

Financial summary

Financial highlights

• Revenue up 15% to £147.4m (9% at constant currency), led by performance at KX and First Derivative both above our full year guidance, balanced by a reduction in revenue at MRP
• KX returned to growth, with revenue up 19% to £37.8m, with ARR up 41% and now representing 71% of total KX revenue (H1 FY22: 59%) as we continue to focus on growing our subscription revenue
• First Derivative revenue £86.2m, up 22%, driven by our investment to deliver services that map to our customers’ strategic goals and our strategy to achieve greater value from our deep domain expertise
• MRP revenue down 8% to £23.4m, resulting from lower demand for lead generation activities in the current market conditions
• Adjusted EBITDA £16.0m, up 7%, with stronger growth at KX and First Derivative tempered by a decline at MRP
• Net debt £7.4m (H1 FY22: £11.7m) after significant investment in implementation of an Oracle ERP system

Current trading and outlook

The Group is delivering growth in both revenue and profitability. In KX, the acceleration in ARR in H1 leaves us well placed to deliver growth in this key metric at the top end of our range of 35-40%. In First Derivative, while H1 was particularly strong, we continue to believe that a growth rate of 15% is the appropriate medium term target, while in MRP we expect revenue to decline by approximately 8% for the full year.

For the Group’s FY23 performance we increase our revenue guidance and now expect revenue to be at least £300m, while maintaining our adjusted EBITDA guidance in the range of £36.5m to £38.5m.

For further information, please contact:

About FD Technologies

FD Technologies is a group of data-driven businesses that unlock the value of insight, hindsight and foresight to drive organisations forward. The Group comprises KX, the leading technology for real-time continuous intelligence; First Derivative, which provides technology-led services in capital markets; and MRP, the only enterprise-class, predictive Accounts Based Marketing solution. FD Technologies operates from 14 locations across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, and employs more than 3,100 people worldwide.

For further information, please visit www.fdtechnologies.com and www.kx.com

Results presentation

FD Technologies will publish a pre-recorded presentation today at 07.05 BST on its website at https://fdtechnologies.com/investor-relations/news-results/presentations/. The Group will also host a live results Q&A session for analysts at 09.30 BST today.

Read the full RNS release here