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Research: TMT
MotorK reported double-digit H123 revenue growth, with committed annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a pipeline of contracts providing visibility for H223. The migration of acquired Dapda customers to the SparK platform drove a substantial rise in average contract value (ACV) and creates opportunities if this success can be replicated with other acquisitions. Short-term cost impacts drove higher year-on-year losses in the period, which has affected our FY23 profit forecasts, but not our FY24 assumptions.
Written by
MotorK |
Driving efficiency to reach profitability |
H123 results |
Software and comp services |
31 July 2023 |
Share price performance
Business description
Next events
Analysts
MotorK is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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MotorK reported double-digit H123 revenue growth, with committed annual recurring revenue (ARR) and a pipeline of contracts providing visibility for H223. The migration of acquired Dapda customers to the SparK platform drove a substantial rise in average contract value (ACV) and creates opportunities if this success can be replicated with other acquisitions. Short-term cost impacts drove higher year-on-year losses in the period, which has affected our FY23 profit forecasts, but not our FY24 assumptions.
Year end |
Revenue (€m) |
ARR (€m) |
PBT* (€m) |
Diluted EPS* (€) |
DPS (€) |
EV/Sales (x) |
EV/EBITDA(x) |
12/21 |
27.6 |
15.1 |
(8.2) |
(0.37) |
0.00 |
4.9 |
N/A |
12/22 |
38.5 |
26.9 |
(8.8) |
(0.22) |
0.00 |
3.4 |
112.6 |
12/23e |
55.8 |
38.8 |
(1.7) |
(0.03) |
0.00 |
2.4 |
402.0 |
12/24e |
67.9 |
51.8 |
8.8 |
0.16 |
0.00 |
1.7 |
9.7 |
Note: *PBT and EPS are normalised, excluding amortisation of acquired intangibles, exceptional items and share-based payments.
H123 results: Successful migration driving revenue
MotorK reported a 30% y-o-y increase in H123 revenue to €21.9m, with organic growth driven by its higher-value enterprise contracts. Overall performance was driven by higher ACV, as well as customer growth, low churn and upsells. Upsells were notable among its acquired Dapda customer base, where ACV increased by 4.8x to €28.9k for those customers transitioning to the full SparK platform offering, well ahead of the group’s overall ACV of €18.1k. This highlights the upsell opportunity among existing retail clients (H123: 852, H122: 670) and its acquired base of c 4,300 customers. Its next focus is on replicating this success among its Webmobil24 customers to drive growth in its German business, which typically has a longer sales cycle. Management confirmed that in the near term it is focused on optimising recent acquisitions, with further M&A a medium-term consideration.
Forecasts updated in line with cost expectations
Our top-line forecasts are materially unchanged. The group finished H1 with committed ARR of €34.8m and an ARR pipeline of €13m (retail: €7m, enterprise: €6m) identified for H2, which would take it ahead of our FY23 ARR forecast of €39m. Our FY23 cash EBITDA expectation has been affected by the integration costs incurred in H1, primarily relating to staff expenses, which were up 24% y-o-y. We forecast the company will remain in a net debt position by year end, reflecting a higher cash EBITDA loss and the €3.2m cash consideration for GestionaleAuto, partially offset by the €3m capital raise completed in June. Management has identified €2.7m of run-rate cost efficiencies for FY24, which should help it to meet the target of positive cash EBITDA by year end.
Valuation: Cash loss widens discount
On EV/sales, MotorK trades at an average discount to peers of 73% across FY23e and FY24e, down c 2pp from our last update. We maintain our belief that the discount should close more rapidly if management can mitigate cash burn and reach positive cash EBITDA by end FY24.
H123 results summary and changes to forecasts
H123 results
We summarise H123 results in Exhibit 1.
Exhibit 1: Summary of H123 results
(€m) |
H123 |
H122 |
y-o-y change |
|
SaaS |
16.2 |
11.4 |
41.9% |
|
Digital marketing |
3.7 |
3.6 |
1.8% |
|
Other |
2.0 |
1.8 |
6.8% |
|
Total revenue |
21.9 |
16.9 |
29.5% |
|
% SaaS recurring revenue |
74% |
64% |
9.6% |
|
ARR |
30.1 |
20.1 |
49.8% |
|
Adj EBITDA |
(1.4) |
(2.3) |
40.1% |
|
+ Change in contract assets |
(3.2) |
(2.3) |
40.3% |
|
+ R&D capitalisation |
(4.7) |
(2.7) |
73.9% |
|
Cash EBITDA |
(9.3) |
(7.3) |
(27.4%) |
|
Reported EBIT |
(7.3) |
(6.9) |
(5.2%) |
|
Reported net income |
(7.8) |
(7.6) |
(2.2%) |
|
Net cash/(debt) |
(6.0) |
22.3 |
N/A |
|
Net retention ratio (NRR) |
114% |
115% |
(1.0%) |
|
Average contract value (ACV) |
18.1 |
16.6 |
9.0% |
Source: MotorK
MotorK’s H123 revenue increased by 29.5% y-o-y to €21.9m, with the group reporting growth across all geographies. ARR, the main driver of our revenue forecasts, was up 10% q-o-q to €30.1m (€27m organic, €3.1m from M&A completed after H122).
Its enterprise division was the primary organic growth driver, with ARR increasing by 100% y-o-y to €5.8m and the number of customers reaching 25 (H122: 18). Management is focusing on enterprise-driven growth as the contracts are larger and the company can potentially leverage their dealer networks for cross-sell opportunities. In retail, organic growth was also robust, with customer numbers up 27% y-o-y to 852, ARR churn down 0.6pp to 5.6% and net retention remaining over 100% at 114%.
We believe transitioning the acquired customer base on to the SparK platform provides the greatest growth opportunity in the short to medium term, increasing the number of dealers it can potentially upsell to from 852 to 5,200. The integration of Dapda customers is a key example, where ACV increased from €6.1k on acquisition to €11.9k for those customers who adopted several MotorK products, and to €28.9k for those adopting the full SparK platform offering, shown in Exhibit 2.
|
Exhibit 2: ACV evolution with Dapda client base |
|
|
Source: MotorK |
Management is now primarily focusing on replicating this success with Webmobil24 to drive its German operations, where growth has been slower than management’s expectations. Management noted that companies are slower to adopt new technology in Germany compared to the other countries in which it is present, and with a smaller market position in Germany, the company has to work harder to gain customer trust. There is also a significant opportunity to do this among its other acquired companies, particularly its latest acquisition of GestionaleAuto. In its presentation, management noted that a high share of GestionaleAuto’s customers already used MotorK’s products, which should make upselling easier.
The company incurred a 28% y-o-y increase in personnel costs, primarily relating to the integration of its acquired entities. High levels of capital research and development also drove an increase in cash EBITDA loss (cash EBITDA adjusts for the movement in contract assets and capitalised development costs) and resulted in high cash burn, moving the company to a €6m net debt position by the period end. Management highlighted its commitment to innovation with its announced European TechLabs, which should allow the company to maintain its competitive advantage but could be a cash drag for the foreseeable future.
MotorK has undertaken a programme of cost optimisation, working to realise cost synergies from the recent series of acquisitions. This includes consolidating its supplier base, phasing out R&D for legacy acquired technology, eliminating M&A retention costs post earn-out periods and some headcount rationalisation. The total cost of this programme is expected to be €2.0m, of which €1.6m has been incurred in H123. This is expected to realise run-rate savings of €2.7m from FY24.
Changes to forecasts
We leave our top-line and ARR forecasts materially unchanged, which is in line with management’s reaffirmed guided ARR range of €39–43m. We note this range includes c €2m of committed ARR related to large enterprise roll-out plans that could encounter minor delays, which we have not factored into our FY23 assumptions. ARR growth is higher than previously indicated as management has re-aligned its ARR figures to apply MotorK’s definition more accurately to its acquired companies, meaning that FY22 ARR of €24.6m is €2.3m less than originally reported.
MotorK closed H123 with €4.7m of committed ARR (contracts that have been signed but not yet implemented and billed), as well as a pipeline of €7m for retail and €6m for enterprise, providing H2 visibility.
Exhibit 1: Summary of changes to forecasts
€'m |
FY23e |
FY24e |
|||||||
Old |
New |
Change |
y-o-y |
Old |
New |
Change |
y-o-y |
||
Revenues |
55.8 |
55.8 |
0.0% |
44.7% |
67.8 |
67.9 |
0.1% |
21.7% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA |
14.8 |
9.7 |
-34.2% |
N/A |
23.6 |
23.4 |
-1.0% |
N/A |
|
Adjusted EBITDA margin |
26.5% |
17.4% |
-9.0% |
16.8% |
34.8% |
34.5% |
-0.4% |
17.0% |
|
Cash EBITDA |
(6.8) |
(11.5) |
-69.6% |
-26.2% |
1.6 |
1.7 |
3.8% |
N/A |
|
Cash EBITDA margin |
-12.2% |
-20.7% |
-8.5% |
19.9% |
2.4% |
2.5% |
0.1% |
23.2% |
|
Normalised operating profit |
4.2 |
(1.0) |
N/A |
N/A |
10.2 |
9.6 |
-5.7% |
N/A |
|
Normalised operating profit margin |
7.5% |
-1.7% |
-9.2% |
18.5% |
15.1% |
14.2% |
-0.9% |
15.9% |
|
Reported operating profit |
2.6 |
(2.5) |
N/A |
N/A |
8.6 |
8.0 |
-6.5% |
N/A |
|
Reported operating margin |
4.7% |
-4.5% |
-9.2% |
N/A |
12.7% |
11.8% |
-0.8% |
16.3% |
|
Normalised PBT |
3.4 |
(1.7) |
N/A |
N//A |
9.4 |
8.8 |
-6.2% |
N/A |
|
Reported PBT |
1.9 |
(3.3) |
N/A |
N/A |
7.8 |
7.3 |
-7.2% |
N/A |
|
Normalised net income |
2.7 |
(1.4) |
N/A |
N/A |
7.2 |
6.7 |
-6.2% |
N/A |
|
Reported net income |
1.5 |
(2.6) |
N/A |
N/A |
5.9 |
5.5 |
-7.2% |
N/A |
|
Normalised basic EPS (€) |
0.07 |
(0.03) |
N/A |
N/A |
0.18 |
0.17 |
-9.2% |
N/A |
|
Normalised diluted EPS (€) |
0.07 |
(0.03) |
N.A |
N/A |
0.18 |
0.16 |
-9.1% |
N/A |
|
Reported basic EPS (€) |
0.04 |
(0.07) |
N.A |
N/A |
0.15 |
0.14 |
-10.2% |
N/A |
|
Dividend per share (€) |
0.00 |
0.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
0.00 |
0.00 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Net debt/(cash) |
(1.9) |
3.2 |
N/A |
N/A |
4.2 |
12.2 |
191.7% |
N/A |
|
ARR |
39.0 |
38.8 |
-0.6% |
57.6% |
51.9 |
51.8 |
-0.2% |
33.5% |
|
Source: Edison Investment Research, MotorK
Our FY23 profit and cash forecasts reflect the impacts of the higher costs incurred in the first half of the year, as well as from the €3.2m cash consideration for GestionaleAuto. The rise in cash outflows has been partially offset by the reserve capital increase of €3m with long-term shareholder Lucerne Capital on 2 June. In its H123 report, management stated that it is in advanced discussions to secure additional debt financing, which could affect our year-end cash assumption.
In its H1 report, management identified €2.7m of run-rate cost efficiencies for FY24, in line with our previous margin expectations and prior cash EBITDA forecast which reflected operating leverage. Our forecasted move to a net debt position in FY23 and the remaining €3.2m deferred consideration for GestionaleAuto, due to be paid within the next 12 months, has led us to increase our FY24 net debt assumption to €12.2m.
Exhibit 4: Financial summary
€'m |
2019 |
2020 |
2021 |
2022 |
2023e |
2024e |
||
31-December |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
IFRS |
||
INCOME STATEMENT |
||||||||
Revenue |
|
|
27.9 |
19.3 |
27.6 |
38.5 |
55.8 |
67.9 |
Annualised recurring revenue |
|
|
7.5 |
10.0 |
15.1 |
26.9 |
38.8 |
51.8 |
Operating costs excl. D&A |
(26.5) |
(20.5) |
(26.7) |
(38.3) |
(46.1) |
(44.5) |
||
EBITDA |
|
|
1.5 |
(1.1) |
0.8 |
0.2 |
9.7 |
23.4 |
Normalised operating profit |
|
|
(0.8) |
(4.3) |
(3.4) |
(7.8) |
(1.0) |
9.6 |
Exceptionals |
(0.0) |
(0.1) |
(3.2) |
(3.5) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Share-based payments |
(0.2) |
(0.1) |
(9.7) |
(1.5) |
(1.6) |
(1.6) |
||
Reported operating profit |
(1.1) |
(4.5) |
(16.4) |
(12.9) |
(2.5) |
8.0 |
||
Net Interest |
(1.4) |
(1.8) |
(4.8) |
(1.0) |
(0.8) |
(0.8) |
||
Profit Before Tax (norm) |
|
|
(2.3) |
(6.1) |
(8.2) |
(8.8) |
(1.7) |
8.8 |
Profit Before Tax (reported) |
|
|
(2.5) |
(6.3) |
(21.2) |
(13.9) |
(3.3) |
7.3 |
Reported tax |
1.1 |
0.9 |
(2.8) |
(0.1) |
0.7 |
(1.7) |
||
Profit After Tax (norm) |
(1.1) |
(5.2) |
(11.0) |
(8.9) |
(1.4) |
6.7 |
||
Profit After Tax (reported) |
(1.4) |
(5.4) |
(23.9) |
(14.0) |
(2.6) |
5.5 |
||
Discontinued operations |
1.6 |
0.0 |
0.4 |
6.7 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Exceptionals |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Net income (normalised) |
(1.1) |
(5.2) |
(11.0) |
(8.9) |
(1.4) |
6.7 |
||
Net income (reported) |
0.2 |
(5.4) |
(23.5) |
(7.3) |
(2.6) |
5.5 |
||
Basic average number of shares outstanding (m) |
26 |
27 |
30 |
41 |
40 |
40 |
||
EPS - basic normalised (€) |
|
|
(0.04) |
(0.19) |
(0.37) |
(0.22) |
(0.03) |
0.17 |
EPS - diluted normalised (€) |
|
|
(0.04) |
(0.19) |
(0.37) |
(0.22) |
(0.03) |
0.16 |
EPS - basic reported (€) |
|
|
0.01 |
(0.20) |
(0.79) |
(0.18) |
(0.07) |
0.14 |
Dividend (€) |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
||
Revenue growth (%) |
128.8 |
(-30.8) |
42.6 |
39.9 |
44.7 |
21.7 |
||
EBITDA Margin (%) |
5.3 |
-5.9 |
3.0 |
0.6 |
17.4 |
34.5 |
||
Normalised Operating Margin |
-3.0 |
-22.3 |
-12.3 |
-20.2 |
-1.7 |
14.2 |
||
BALANCE SHEET |
||||||||
Fixed Assets |
|
|
22.8 |
16.8 |
26.2 |
52.8 |
65.7 |
69.7 |
Intangible Assets |
11.2 |
9.9 |
18.0 |
36.8 |
44.1 |
42.7 |
||
Tangible Assets |
1.6 |
1.7 |
3.1 |
5.0 |
5.1 |
5.3 |
||
Investments & other |
10.1 |
5.2 |
5.2 |
11.0 |
16.5 |
21.8 |
||
Current Assets |
|
|
25.4 |
28.3 |
63.4 |
45.7 |
46.5 |
46.3 |
Stocks |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Debtors |
16.0 |
11.5 |
16.0 |
26.5 |
37.0 |
45.9 |
||
Cash & cash equivalents |
9.4 |
11.8 |
43.3 |
19.2 |
9.5 |
0.4 |
||
Other |
0.0 |
4.9 |
4.2 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Current Liabilities |
|
|
(13.6) |
(14.5) |
(15.2) |
(18.1) |
(28.3) |
(31.1) |
Creditors |
(11.1) |
(6.1) |
(8.3) |
(12.0) |
(19.1) |
(25.1) |
||
Tax and social security |
0.0 |
0.0 |
(2.9) |
(3.8) |
(3.8) |
(3.8) |
||
Short term borrowings |
(2.5) |
(7.1) |
(2.7) |
(1.6) |
(4.8) |
(1.6) |
||
Other |
0.0 |
(1.3) |
(1.3) |
(0.6) |
(0.6) |
(0.6) |
||
Long Term Liabilities |
|
|
(27.1) |
(28.5) |
(10.0) |
(18.6) |
(21.2) |
(15.1) |
Long term borrowings |
(23.5) |
(25.6) |
(6.2) |
(11.3) |
(11.2) |
(11.2) |
||
Other long term liabilities |
(3.7) |
(2.9) |
(3.8) |
(7.4) |
(10.0) |
(3.9) |
||
Net Assets |
|
|
7.5 |
2.1 |
64.4 |
61.8 |
62.7 |
69.8 |
Minority interests |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Shareholders' equity |
|
|
7.5 |
2.1 |
64.4 |
61.8 |
62.7 |
69.8 |
CASH FLOW |
||||||||
Net income |
0.2 |
(5.4) |
(23.5) |
(7.3) |
(2.6) |
5.5 |
||
Depreciation & amortisation |
2.7 |
3.8 |
4.2 |
8.0 |
10.7 |
13.8 |
||
Working capital |
(7.4) |
2.5 |
(2.0) |
(6.7) |
(6.3) |
(14.2) |
||
Exceptional & other |
1.6 |
1.9 |
15.0 |
(3.2) |
3.4 |
2.3 |
||
Tax |
(0.1) |
(1.2) |
2.6 |
(0.0) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Net operating cash flow |
|
|
(3.0) |
1.7 |
(3.6) |
(9.2) |
5.2 |
7.3 |
Capex |
(3.6) |
(3.2) |
(3.9) |
(9.1) |
(10.6) |
(11.4) |
||
Acquisitions/disposals |
(0.6) |
0.0 |
(5.4) |
(4.5) |
(3.3) |
(3.2) |
||
Net interest |
(0.5) |
(0.5) |
(6.9) |
(1.3) |
(0.7) |
(0.7) |
||
Equity financing |
0.0 |
0.0 |
70.1 |
(0.7) |
0.8 |
0.0 |
||
Dividends |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Other |
(0.1) |
0.1 |
0.2 |
(0.1) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Net Cash Flow |
(7.8) |
(1.9) |
50.5 |
(24.7) |
(8.7) |
(8.0) |
||
Opening net debt/(cash) |
|
|
8.2 |
16.2 |
20.6 |
(34.4) |
(6.5) |
3.2 |
FX |
(0.2) |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
0.0 |
||
Other non-cash movements |
0.1 |
(2.5) |
4.5 |
(3.2) |
(1.0) |
(1.0) |
||
Closing net debt/(cash) |
|
|
16.2 |
20.6 |
(34.4) |
(6.5) |
3.2 |
12.2 |
Source: Edison Investment Research, MotorK
|
|
Research: Industrials
AAC Clyde Space has confirmed the acceleration of the xSPANCION satellite project following completion of the capital raise, which has provided SEK35.9m of net new funds. This will provide liquidity to proceed with the final phase to build out 10 satellites, the first four of which are to be added to AAC’s own SDaaS fleet by the end of 2024. By that time we would expect AAC to be generating positive EBITDA and net cash flow as it continues to grow the high-margin data revenue streams.