FD
Technologies plc
Trading
update for the 12 months ended 28 February 2025
25th March 2025
Strong FY25 performance with
annual contract value ("ACV") at top end of guidance range and cash
EBITDA above top end of consensus expectations
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FY251
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FY24
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YoY (+/-)
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£
million
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Expected
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Expected
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ARR2
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81.8
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72.5
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+13%
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ACV3 added
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18.0
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13.5
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+33%
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Cash EBITDA4
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(14.6)
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(18.8)
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NM
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§
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KX continued to execute well in the
second half of the year, delivering FY bookings growth at the top
end of our guidance range and ahead of consensus**
expectations, with £18.0 million annual ACV (FY24: £13.5 million),
+33 per cent YoY.
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§
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KX achieved a significant milestone,
with annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million*
for the first time, after constant currency growth of 13 per cent
to £81.8 million (FY24: £72.5 million), in line with the guidance
range.
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§
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Cash EBITDA was ahead of guidance
and above the top end of consensus expectations with a loss of
£14.6 million (FY24: loss of £18.8 million).
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§
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Proven use cases are driving the
adoption of KDB.AI, which facilitates real-time AI-powered research
assistance, anomaly detection, predictive analytics in capital
markets, and satellite imagery analysis and signal processing in
aerospace and defence.
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§
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Market demand for time-series AI is
growing as industries shift towards real-time, context-aware AI.
KDB.AI's ability to seamlessly combine historical and real-time
data with low-latency AI processing sets it apart as a category
leader.
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§
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Following the divestment of MRP
(retaining a 49 per cent associate investment in the resulting
merged entity, PharosIQ) and First Derivative, we returned £120
million to shareholders and KX closed the year with £56 million net
cash and no debt.
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§
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We enter FY26 with a strong and
growing pipeline of expansion and new opportunities across capital
markets, aerospace and defence, and industrial IoT. This gives us
confidence at this early stage in the year that we can achieve FY26
ARR growth of at least 20%.
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Seamus Keating, Group CEO of FD Technologies,
commented:
"We made significant strategic and
operational progress in FY25. With accelerating ARR growth and
better-than-expected operating leverage, KX delivered a strong
performance based on good ongoing execution. We restructured our
business to focus solely on KX, returned £120 million of value to
shareholders, and ensured that KX is well capitalised to execute
its strategy for growth and profitability."
Ashok Reddy, CEO of KX, added:
"The strong bookings growth in the
period demonstrates that our strategy is working and reflects the
benefits of our investments to enhance our go-to-market operations
and simplify adoption. We enter FY26 with a
strong and growing pipeline of expansion and new opportunities
across capital markets, aerospace and defence, and industrial IoT,
and view the outlook for the year with
confidence."
* £81.8 million ARR restated in US
dollars was $103.1 million, using the US$/£ exchange rate of 1.26
on 28 February 2025.
** On 28 February 2025, the company-compiled analyst mean
consensus estimates indicated £16.7 million in ACV added during the
period (range £16.0-17.0 million), £82.8 million in ARR (range
£81.2-84.5 million), and an £18.5 million Cash EBITDA loss (range
of £16.3-20.1 million loss). The consensus included estimates from
six analysts.
1 All figures are only for KX's continuing operations and
exclude the divested First Derivative business.
2 Annual recurring revenue: the total value of recurring
software revenue expected to be recognised over the next 12 months,
on the final day of the reporting period.
3 Annual contract value: the sum of the value of each customer
contract signed during the year divided by the number of years in
each contract.
4 Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation
adjusted to exclude share-based payments, capitalised R&D, and
exceptional items.
Contacts
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FD
Technologies plc
Seamus Keating, Chief Executive
Officer
Ryan Preston, Chief Financial
Officer
Derek Brown, SVP Investor
Relations
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www.fdtechnologies.com
investors@kx.com
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Investec Bank plc - Nominated Adviser and
Broker
Carlton Nelson
Virginia Bull
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+44 (0)20 7597 5970
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Goodbody - Euronext Growth Adviser and
Broker
Don Harrington
Jason Molins
Tom Nicholson
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+353 1 667 0420
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J.P.
Morgan Cazenove - Broker
James A. Kelly
Mose Adigun
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+44 (0)20 3493 8000
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FTI
Consulting - Financial
PR
Matt Dixon
Dwight Burden
Victoria Caton
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+44 (0)20 3727 1000
fdtechnologies@fticonsulting.com
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About KX
KX is on a mission to make AI a
commercial reality for the many by addressing data challenges that
impede deployment at scale. By simultaneously ingesting and
analysing high volumes of historical and real-time data, KX's
AI-ready analytical database enables organizations to unlock the
full value of their data to accelerate innovation and make faster,
more confident decisions.
KX is the world's most performant,
cost-effective and energy-efficient analytical database, delivering
advanced data algorithms, insights and analytics at unmatched scale
and speed. KX is trusted by the world's top investment banks,
Aerospace and Defence, high-tech manufacturing and health and life
sciences organisations and operates across North America, Europe,
and Asia Pacific.
For further information, please
visit www.fdtechnologies.com
